Avatar: Legend of the Beast People
by ObiKemnebi
Summary: As Team Avatar travels the globe having adventures, they are joined by a strange new friend or two, who teach them about their world and a world they never knew existed. First chapter is S01 E18 of the series, The Waterbending Master. Spoiler alerts all over the place...
1. The Waterbending Master

"Can't Appa fly _any_ higher?" Sokka complained. The sky bison gave a low, rumbling response, and sank even further. One of his front paws dragged along in the water for a moment.

"Oh, _I_ know!" Aang snapped back. His pet flying lemur leapt from his head in surprise and glided about in a small circle. "Why don't we all climb on _your_ back and have _you_ fly us to the North Pole!"

"Well sure, go ahead!" The older boy replied sarcastically. "The Sokka Express is boarding and ready for take off!" He turned around and shook his rump to further the effect.

"Now, now," Katara interjected. It was not the first time she had felt the need to mediate. "We're all just feeling a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight. We'll all get a chance to cool off once we get to the Northern Water Tribe."

"But we haven't seen anything up here but water and ice!" Sokka spread his arms in reference to the great blue expanse. "There's no sign that anyone lives here at all!"

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the first iceberg jutted out of the sea, straight out at them. Aang yelped and yanked Appa's reins hard. The sky bison veered sharply to the left. He managed to dodge the first attack, but more were coming at them fast. The three young people held on tight as Appa swerved back and forth, avoiding collision with the oncoming ice. One jagged extension managed to clip him on the foot, and the group screamed as they went spiralling out of control.

There was a moment of stillness after Appa hit the water and came to rest on the surface. Katara glanced up and exclaimed, "It's the Northern Water Tribe! We've found them!"

"Actually," her brother corrected her, "I think they found us."

They gazed around themselves, at the surrounding boats full of waterbenders. The bent ice held Appa motionless, and the benders stood ready to likewise imprison the young intruders if necessary.

A tall man with silvery blonde hair and wide fuzzy sideburns stepped up onto the raised bow of his boat. He was dressed in the flexible outfit of a waterbender, but he wore a warrior's wolftail hairstyle and whalebone necklace. "Who are you, and what business do you have with us?" he demanded.

* * *

On a ship many hundreds of miles away, Zhao held a meeting with six of his highest ranked and most trusted officers.

"He's moving North... The Northern Water Tribe." The Admiral turned away from his wall map in satisfaction. "The Avatar needs to master waterbending. He's looking for a teacher."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's mount an attack and take him out before he has a chance to learn and gain more power!" A dark haired man suggested.

"Patience, Captain Li. This isn't just some little Earth Kingdom village we can simply march into. The Northern Water Tribe is a great nation. There is a reason they have so well survived a hundred years of war. The frozen tundra is treacherous; the landscape itself is an icy fortress, which the waterbenders can manipulate at will."

"So what is to be done, sir?" a colonel asked.

"We'll need a massive invasion force. But first, we need to make a few preparations." Admiral Zhao's eyes darkened in satisfied expectation.

* * *

It had taken a bit of explaining, but the Gaang had convinced Nanuk, the light haired man, to escort them into the Northern Water Tribe. It turned out he was a rather good humored person, if a little overzealous in the protect of his family and tribe. He explained that he was the son of the tribe's most prestigious waterbending master, and was both an accomplished warrior and a waterbender in training.

"I am my father's least productive student," he joked. "Sixteen years of lessons, and I _still_ cannot manage a basic water whip!"

"You've been training with your tribe's best waterbending master for that long, and you can't even do that?" Sokka asked in surprise. He turned to Aang and Katara, "Good luck! If that's the best teacher they've got, you're gonna need all the luck you can get!"

Nanuk shook his head. "My father is a very good teacher, though I will grant he is a bit harsh with his criticism. Stubborn as a badger mule too. But my problems are my own. I am great with ice, but my energy does not flow well enough for liquid water to follow. I could not tell you why, it just is what it is." He looked like he wanted to add something else, but decided against it.

The group - Appa and his passengers, and the four patrol boats that were escorting them - turned a corner, passed yet another iceberg... and suddenly gazed up at a massive ice wall, decorated with the crescent moon symbol of the Northern Water Tribe. The patrolmen were unfazed, having seen it many times, but Nanuk motioned to slow down and let the newcomers enjoy the view.

As they neared the wall, several waterbenders on the flat boats changed their stances, bending the ice that formed the wall itself. A tunnel opened opened up, large enough for even Appa to traverse as he floated on the water's surface. Nanuk's boat went first, but an older bender from another boat motioned the Avatar to direct his bison through next. The tunnel was closed behind them; the other patrol boats apparently weren't going to follow.

They were directed into a series of large chambers and short canals, the walls and gates of which were controlled by a large number of waterbenders. Aang and Katara watched all this in wonder and gleeful amazement.

"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" the young woman commented.

"We'll find somebody to teach us here, no problem!" Her friend agreed with a wide grin. Nanuk furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't comment.

The city was built with multiple levels. The lowest was wide and open, with several great canals leading from the outer wall to the main portion of the citadel, each one lined on both sides by a row of large snowy longhouses. A meandering web of intricately designed igloos and stairways dominated the three mid levels, which were further divided into two to four sublevels. There were small canals weaving throughout the city, and student waterbenders ferried citizens along them in small canoes. Ice bridges periodically crossed these, to ease the way for pedestrians who had only short distances to travel and chose to walk. Statues, fountains, and other frozen decorations lined the canals and streets, further enhancing the majesty of the city. A few men were using pale, furry buffalo yak as mounts or beasts of burden.

Appa was guided to a wide, stepped canal which would lead directly to the heart of the city, at the highest and farthest part of the massive structural masterpiece.

Crowds of people looked down from raised paths, bridges, windows, and balconies. It was not everyday the Avatar came to the farthest corner of the world, and the citizens watched him in excitement and curiosity. Aang waved to them, but his attention was mostly held by the amazing artificial landscape around them.

They had been on this path only a few minutes when they were shifted closer to one side to make room for a passing canoe. Katara and Aang were engrossed in the local architecture and paid the traffic little heed. Sokka, on the other hand, was immediately transfixed by the sole passenger: a beautiful young woman, with hair whiter than the cleanest snow. She sat with regal dispassion as they passed, but the young warrior stumbled slowly and distractedly down from Appa's saddle to his tail, keeping her in sight for as long as possible.

"Isn't this the most beautiful place you've ever seen?" Katara said, gazing at a large fountain covered in fancy and delicate carvings.

"Yeah," Sokka sighed wistfully. "She is." His sister glanced back at him in curiosity. Aang shrugged, and Momo chattered wildly as he suddenly caught sight of some hot cakes cooling on a window sill. The two benders returned to admiring their surroundings, leaving Sokka to his daydreams.

* * *

Elsewhere, at a small port city to the south, a party was being had on Zuko's personal ship. The sound of a pipa's strings being plucked could be heard from the deck across the water by an old fishermen, lost in his memories that were stirred up by the familiar folk song. Iroh's solemnly joyful voice carried the corus to that fisherman, and other, unseen, listeners.

"Winter, spring

Summer and fall.

Winter, spring

Summer and fall.

"Four seasons,

Fo-oo-our lo-oves.

Four seasons,

Fo-oo-our loves."

The cook and a deckhand danced awkwardly but happily to the music, while the captain and first mate played accompanying instruments.

The grey haired General was nearly lost in the blissful sway of the music when he was interrupted by the sound of marching feet. The music came to a sudden, ungraceful end. Two firebenders walked stiffly up the gangplank and onto the deck, followed by Admiral Zhao. The younger man smirked like a pygmy puma that had found itself in close quarters with a family of chicken mice.

* * *

The palace was huge in itself, easily dwarfing King Bumi's palace at Omashu. Resting at the top of a long, wide staircase that traversed the entire heart of the city, it resembled a number of enormous longhouses stacked on top of each other, with three great igloos stacked atop them, and designed in such a way as to make one continuous building. It had bridges, balconies, and stairways carved by benders along the outside, and there was even a large round courtyard as a level just below the first floor. It was in this courtyard that the tribe's chief held the welcoming feast that night.

A massive waterfall fell from the glacier walls far above and just behind the palace, and the water from this flowed into a series of tunnels beneath the palace and exited from openings in the ledge. The courtyard was thus lined with liquid blue tapestries that shimmered in the moonlight.

Three young men stood on a large pedestal before the row of waterfalls, playing tall ceremonial drums that came up to their waists. A large, triple-tiered fountain stood before them, with an enormous totem pole at each side. At its base was a square pool of steaming water.

With the wall of water on the far side of this arrangement, and rows of long tables on the two adjacent sides, the Gaang was honored with placement at the head table on a raised platform opposite the fountain and pool.

Chief Arnook sat at the middle. Four tribal elders were seated to his right. The Avatar sat at the chief's left hand, and to Aang's left sat Katara, Sokka, and Nanuk.

There was an extra place set between the Southern warrior and the Northern "icebender," as Nanuk liked to be called. When Sokka asked about this, Nanuk shook his head with a mischievous grin and told him, "It is not empty, but it is not your place to ask. You will see, soon enough." His grin only widened at the younger boy's increased curiosity.

Sokka didn't get a chance to retort, as the their attention was stolen by a rumble followed by some shouts from Nanuk's other side. Some young boys from the tribe had been assigned to provide Appa with his portion of the feast, and the bison's thankful acknowledgement of the large litter of seaweed had startled them. The two warriors laughed as the four boys leapt backward, tripping over each other and the massive tray, and ran away in fright. Appa immediately began to eat, ignoring the people around him.

Food was also served to the humans. Sokka immediately began to shovel things into his mouth, hardly taking time to chew. Nanuk sorted through what had been placed before him, but his focus was on the chief. At an unseen cue, the drummers ceased playing, and Arnook stood.

"Welcome, all," the middle aged man announced. "Today, we gather for two reasons. First, we welcome our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe." A polite applause came from the gathered populace. Sokka swallowed quickly, and the siblings nodded respectfully.

Arnook added, "And they have brought with them someone very special, someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world, until now. The Avatar!" Aang waved, and the applause became a bit more energetic.

The chief waited for the applause to quiet, then continued, "And second, this is also a celebration, of my daughter Princess Yue's sixteenth birthday. She is now of marrying age!"

This time, the clapping was much more uproarous, as a particular white haired beauty stepped up beside her father, accompanied by two escorts. Sokka's jaw dropped. Nanuk reach over and pushed the boy's chin up until his mouth closed. The younger warrior looked quickly over in surprise.

Upon seeing the light in the man's eyes, he scowled. "You could have told me," he muttered.

"You would not have believed me," came the mirthful reply. "Besides, this makes things more interesting."

The princess bowed to the chief and said, "I thank you, father." Turning to the rest of the crowd, she said, "May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits bless us all and watch over us during these troubled times." The clapping that had quieted when she starting speaking came up again as she walked over to take the place beside her Southern guest.

"Now," announced Chief Arnook, "Master Pakku and his students will perform!"

The ceremonial drumming picked up again as an old man and two young men stood at the base of the fountain and began an intricate dance. Three great columns of water rose from tall snow carved pots. The three benders expertly wove the streams around themselves in powerful, swooping patterns. Katara and Aang smiled open mouthed, and clapped wildly at the display.

Sokka had begun shoving food into his mouth again, but he froze when he saw Yue sit down beside him. He quickly turned away from her for a moment to swallow and wipe crumbs off of his thick overcoat.

"Hi there," he said, trying to be cool. He put on elbow on the table and cocked his head back over his shoulder at her. "Sokka, Southern Water Tribe," he introduced himself.

She bowed. "Very nice to meet you." They both became a bit stiff and awkward, looking anywhere but at each other, each groping for something to say, some conversation to begin.

"So..." the young warrior attempted. "Ahhhh..." He flinched a bit, seeing her intent but uncomfortable focus on him. "You're a princess!" She nodded, encouraging him. He decided to try and smoothly go from there.

"You know, back in my tribe, I'm kinda like a prince myself."

Katara scoffed. "Prince of what?"

"A lot of things!" he defensively replied. He leaned forward in brotherly annoyance. "D'you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here."

The waterbender nodded with a grin. "My apologies, Prince Sokka." She bowed mockingly to him, then returned to watching the performing benders with fascination.

Sokka turned back to the princess, who was still watching him with wide eyed interest. "So, looks like I'm gonna be in town for a while. I'm thinking maybe we could..." His coolness completely fell apart as all he could think to say was, "Do an activity together?" He was overcome with shy hopefulness, and a realization of just how dorky that sounded.

Yue raised her eyebrows, her smile now one of surprised amusement. "Do... an activity?" she repeated.

Sokka stared straight forward, frozen with mortification. He then suddenly thrust several whole sea prunes into his mouth, stuffing his face completely. He choked a bit as he tried to force some of it down his throat.

Nanuk leaned backward, smirking at him from behind the princess. "_Real_ smooth," he joked quietly. Sokka glared back and started chewing, a bit more forcefully than was necessary.

When the banquet was over, the chief and Nanuk took the Avatar to be introduced to Pakku. As Pakku's son, the icebender had taken it upon himself to be a guide to Aang and his friends until they came to know the layout of the city a bit more.

"Master Pakku," greeted Arnook. "Meet your newest student, the Avatar." Aang bowed respectfully. Pakku nodded, but kept his arms crossed in his sleeves, clearly unimpressed.

"Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment," the old man stated gravely.

The young airbender took a moment to think of the best thing to say. He settled for a grin and, "My friend and I can't wait to start training with you." He shrugged good naturedly. "After we relax for a couple of days."

The waterbending master scowled at him. "If you want to relax," he said silkily, "then I recommend visiting a tropical island. If not, I'll see you both at sunrise. Good night." With that, Pakku turned on his heel and stalked away.

Aang looked up at the chief, who shrugged. He had long become used to the older man's forthrightness. Nanuk shook his head in resignation, and went to follow his father. He turned back for a moment to wave at his newest classmate, but quickly jogged to catch up to Pakku.

* * *

The large metal door creaked loudly as it was opened. Iroh took a tentative step into the prince's personal chamber, and his nephew turned away from him stubbornly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"For the last time, Uncle, I'm _not_ playing the tsungi horn!" he snapped.

"No, it's about our plans," Iroh replied. He stepped further into the room. "There is a bit of a problem."

The impatient Admiral stepped firmly past the retired General, causing Zuko to spin around quickly. Without any pomp or ceremony, Zhao stated, "I'm taking your crew."

"What?!" The banished prince leapt to his feet. His anger, ever present, twisted his features. He balled his hand into fists at his waist and took a defensive stance.

"I've recruited them for a little _expedition_ to the north pole." Zhao placed his own hands behind his back and moved forward just a bit, almost daring Zuko to defy him.

"Uncle, is this true?"

"I'm afraid so. He's taking everyone, even the cook!" Iroh put an arm over his face and sobbed at the loss of this most important crew member. The other two were unsure if this was an act, but neither really cared at that point.

"Sorry you won't be there to watch me capture the Avatar," Zhao's taunt was subtle but very clear, "But I can't have you getting in my way again."

Zuko growled and made to attack the older man, but Iroh moved to stop him. "No!"

Admiral Zhao looked to the side in boredom, ignoring the two. A pair of twin Dao broadswords mounted on the wall opposite the door caught his attention. He moved closer, and recognition dawned heavily on him. He had seen these before. They had been used by a man in a Blue Spirit mask, as the person had freed the Avatar from his imprisonment. The criminal's face had been hidden, but Zhao had stared at the mask and and weapons for several drawn out moments when they had reached a stalemate. The "Blue Spirit" had threatened to kill the Avatar, rather than allow him to be recaptured.

Zhao reached up and removed one from the display. It was Zuko's turn to stare in horror and realization. His mother had insisted he learn to use them as a child, in case he should ever find himself in a situation where he could not use firebending to defend himself. His greatest crime, the one that put as great a price on his head as the Avatar's, the Admiral had personally witnessed. He knew that the Avatar had seen him without the mask, but had Zhao? If the military leader figured out whose swords they were...

"I didn't know you were skilled with broadswords, Prince Zuko." Zhao gave nothing away by his tone. He gave the weapon a few experimental swings, testing its sharpness and balance, then looked at the young man with suspicion concealed behind a face of polite interest.

"I'm not," the prince told him. "They're antiques. Just decorative."

Zhao raised an eyebrow, and continued to examine the blade. "Have you heard of the Blue Spirit, Iroh?" he asked.

"Just rumors," the stout man replied. "I don't think he is real." Zuko let nothing show, but he inwardly admitted that Iroh's passion for pai sho had a use. His uncle's face was as impassive as the palace pond on a windless day. Did he suspect?

"Oh, he's real alright." Admiral Zhao walked back over to them, still carrying the sword. "He's a criminal, and an enemy of the Fire Nation." He held the sword out, blade pointed toward the floor, for his senior to take. As Iroh obligingly took the weapon, the Admiral added darkly, "But I have a feeling that _justice_ will catch up with him soon."

Zhao strode firmly out of the room. "General Iroh, my offer to join my mission is stands, if you change your mind." Then he pulled the door closed behind himself, and was gone.

* * *

"I've waited for this day my _whole life!_" Katara exclaimed quietly as her small group walked to the palace courtyard the next morning. "I finally get to learn from a _real_ waterbending master!"

"Don't get too excited, Katara," Nanuk warned her. "My father is a stubborn man, with a short temper. This experience might not live up to your expectations."

"I'm sure we can find some way to work through whatever problems he might have with us," Aang said lightly. "Besides, it's the learning that's important."

Master Pakku had his back to them as he waited for the rest of his students to arrive. He moved his hands in a complex pattern, guiding and shaping a mass of water in front of him.

"Good morning, Master Pakku!" Aang shouted in greeting, with a wave. The floating stream suddenly broke form and fell to the ground with a splash.

"No, please, march right in!" The master lowered his hands. "I'm not _concentrating_ or anything." The sarcastic comment was grumbled, but loudly enough that everyone could hear.

Aang winced, wondering what he could do or say to make the man less sour towards him. "Ummm, this is my friend, Katara. The one I told you about?" He smiled apologetically, and the girl bowed deeply.

Pakku raised a brow at the young Avatar. "I'm sorry, I think there's been a misunderstanding." The old bender pulled the snow up to create a simple chair and seated himself, in one graceful movement. He crossed his legs and his arms as he stared at the pair of young people. "You didn't tell me your friend was a _girl_."

His voice dripping with disdain, the master continued, "In our tribe, it is _forbidden_ for women to learn waterbending. You should have told them I would not teach her," he glared at Nanuk.

The icebender bowed respectfully, then shrugged. "I get the feeling she could be just as stubborn as yourself. She would have come here regardless, even if she had known."

Katara's expression had quickly transformed from one of excitement and respect to one of indignation and outrage. "What do you mean, you won't teach me?" She took several steps forward. "I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me no!"

Pakku glared back in stubborn dismissal. "_NO_," he enunciated firmly.

"But there _must_ be other female waterbenders in your tribe!"

"Yes, there are. But here, the women learn from Yagoda to use their waterbending to heal. It is how things are done," Nanuk stated apologetically.

The waterbending master smiled mockingly and told the girl, "I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student. Despite your bad attitude," he added darkly.

"I don't want to heal, I want to fight!"

"I can see that. But our tribe has customs, rules."

"Well your rules _stink!_" Katara retorted.

"Yeah," Aang added in her defense. "They're not fair! If you won't teach Katara, then -"

"Then what?" Pakku stood over them.

"Then... then I won't learn from you!" Aang snapped back. He turned and stomped away.

"Well, have fun teaching yourself," the master replied. "I'm sure you'll do a great job!"

"Wait!" Katara exclaimed. "Aang didn't mean that!" she said to Pakku. She ran after the airbender, and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't risk your training for me," she told him. "You have to learn from Master Pakku. Even if he is a big jerk," she added quietly.

They both glared back at the old man, but Aang nodded. He turned reluctantly back to his instructor.

"Why don't we get started, then?" Pakku sneered.

Nanuk watched his father turn the snow stool into a floating river and launch it at the young Avatar. He winced as the boy was thrown several feet by the force of the attack, then ran after Katara.

* * *

"Princess Yue!" called Sokka, as he ran across a bridge that her personal boat was passing under. "Good morning!"

The southern boy gasped as he ran along the canal's bank to catch up. "Hey, how about the picnic last night? Boy, your day sure knows how to throw a party!"

Yue politely replied, "I am happy you enjoyed yourself."

"Well, it wasn't as much fun after you left." The princess blushed deeply and faced away a bit, to hide the smile that had broken her regal poise. Sokka liked this response, and continued, "So, I'm still hoping we can see more of each other."

"Do an activity, you mean?" she asked with a light in her eyes. Sokka's sky, bumbling manner returned quickly.

"Yes, at a place, for... some time," he tried, with an embarrassed smile plastered on his face.

Yue chuckled, "I'd love to!" She pointed up ahead and told him, "I'll meet you on that bridge, tonight."

"Great!" the young warrior exclaimed. "I'll see you - gaaah!" He suddenly fell into the water. His path had dropped off where another canal joined the first, and he had walked right off the edge without looking where he was going.

Yue covered her mouth and laughed mirthfully. "Sorry," she waved.

"That's okay!" Sokka called as he pulled himself back up. He then flopped backwards to law in the snow, sighing happily. "It was worth it! See you tonight..."

* * *

"I'm very impressed. You all seem highly qualified for the mission I have in mind." Admiral Zhao looked at the men gathered in his naval tent with dark satisfaction.

The leader of the group pushed his hat back, then reached for the gilded box that lay on the desk between himself and the Fire Nation commander. He opened it, and the parrot lizard on his shoulder squawked at the contents.

A long haired, dark skinned fellow who appeared to originate from the western Earth Kingdom reached over and pulled out a coin. He bit it to check for authenticity, then smiled greedily. "That's some tasty gold!"

The pirate captain snatched the coin back and closed the box. He focused back on Zhao. "What do you need us to do?"

"I believe you're acquainted with Prince Zuko," the firebender smirked dangerously.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Katara demanded as she stomped forcefully down a random winding path.

"Would it have made a difference?" Nanuk responded calmly, easily keeping pace with her. "Had I told you my father would refuse, would you have really stayed back and left it alone? Or would you have gone to him anyway, and had the same argument, regardless?"

She scowled. "You could have stuck up for me, at least."

"He's my father, Katara. I've lived with the man for sixteen years. And I've learned it's much easier to live with him if I leave him to wallow in his spite and customs."

Katara looked up in surprise. "Only sixteen years? But you must be almost thirty!"

"I am adopted," he told her. "I don't have any memories of my real parents. They... died, when I was very young."

"Oh," was all she could say. After a bit of thinking, she shrugged. "Well, I guess that explains how you can be so... you. If you were his real son, I guess you wouldn't have even let me try going to his class this morning."

"I... Pakku is not perfect, and there are days I get so aggravated I almost can't stand it. But..." Nanuk looked away sadly. "He is all I have," he whispered.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, each lost in his or her own thoughts. After a while Nanuk nodded toward a wide path that lead off the canal they were following. "Yagoda's healing hut is down that way. Even if you aren't allowed to learn to use waterbending to fight, you might like to attend a healing lesson or two. At least you'll be learning something."

Katara sighed, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

When they reached the longhouse where Yagoda lived, worked, and taught, Nanuk stopped the young waterbender with a with a light touch on her arm. She turned to see what he wanted.

"Just so you know, I don't think healing is a lesser job than fighting," he told her sincerely. "I've seen quite a few battles, and in many cases I owe the credit of my survival to my healer more than to my own warrior skills. Even the Avatar doesn't always come out unscathed, and what you learn in there could save his life someday."

Katara nodded thoughtfully, took a deep breath, and walked into the hut.

An old woman sat on a low, wide platform in the middle of a small pool at the center of the large room. Before her lay a life sized wooden doll. Deep, thin lines had been carved across the body, following the natural curves of muscle and bone. The healer was moving water through these tiny rivers, occasionally stopping over a certain area or other. She pulled all the water down the lines and gathered them at an area on the chest, and it began to glow as she demonstrated a simple technique.

"Um, hi," Katara waved shyly. "Are you Yagoda?"

The woman stopped what she was doing and smiled up at the southern girl. "I am. Are you here for the healing lesson?" she asked kindly.

Katara glanced around at the other students. All were children, and every last one was a girl. She bowed her head in resignation, but tried to hold on to what the northern man and told her a few moments before. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Welcome, welcome!" Her new teacher motioned her to take a seat, and continued the lesson.

* * *

Back at the palace courtyard, Aang was practicing moving a stream of water back and forth around him, as Master Pakku sat on the ground nearby, eating his breakfast. The other students had paired off and were practicing at the other end of the yard, glad to be out from under the old man's judging eye.

"You're moving the water around, but you're not feeling the push and pull." Pakku used his bending to stir and cool his bowl of noodles, not even looking up at his young pupil.

Aang growled in frustrated concentration. "I'm trying!" he said as he formed a shaky orb in front of himself.

Pakku took a large mouthful of noodles and sucked them all up with a very loud _sllllurrrrrup!_ He swallowed, and then sighed loudly. "Maybe that move is too advanced for you," he said blandly. "Why don't you try an easier one?"

The airbender growled again, throwing his water hard onto the ground. He turned away from the master, shaking and grimacing in contained anger and frustration. How did the other students put up with this?!

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Nanuk, understanding written all over the light haired man's face.

"Father, may I work with the Avatar for a time?" the icebender asked.

"You are late, Pupil Nanuk." Pakku ignored the question his son had asked him. "Perhaps I should give you something more difficult to work on, if you believe you know enough to waste class time elsewhere."

"I was bringing the Southern girl to the healing hut, for Yagoda's lesson, Master Pakku. Would you have had me do otherwise?" Nanuk's raised eyebrow and otherwise bored expression matched the old man's exactly.

Pakku rolled his eyes and snorted in dismissal. "Do not think you can always find a worthwhile excuse. You are still late. Go work yourself off with one hundred ice crunches."

Nanuk bowed to the old master, shrugged to Aang in apology - he _had_ tried, after all - and moved to an empty space to begin his own exercises.

* * *

As four of the youngest girls carried the healing doll out of the longhouse, Katara approached Yagoda. "Thanks for the lesson," she said sincerely. She still wanted to learn to fight, but she had to admit that healing was a useful thing to be able to do.

The old woman nodded, then asked, "So who's the lucky boy?"

"Huh?"

"Your betrothal necklace." Yagoda pointed with a smile. "You're getting married, right?"

Katara laughed with sudden understanding. "Oh! No, I don't think I'm ready for that yet!" She touched the charm said warmly, "My grandmother gave my mother this necklace, and my mother passed it down to me," she explained.

The healer took a closer look, and her eyes lit up. "I recognize this carving!" she exclaimed with a wide smile. Yagoda leaned in uncomfortably close to the southern girl's face. "I don't know why I didn't realize sooner! You're the spitting image of Kanna!"

Katara jumped back in surprise. "Wait. How do you know my Gran Gran's name?"

"When I was about your age, I was friends with Kanna," came the answer. "She was born _here_, in the Northern Tribe."

Katara looked away and stared at nothing in particular. "She never told me," she breathed.

"Your grandmother had an arranged marriage with a young waterbender. He carved that necklace for her."

The young waterbender looked up in surprise. "If Gran Gran was engaged, why did she leave?"

"I don't know," Yagoda sighed. "That's always been a mystery to me. She left without even saying goodbye."

* * *

"Good luck!" called Iroh from the ship's deck. A few members of the crew turned back to wave before following their escort of soldiers and firebenders to the naval deporting dock.

A few minutes later, the old man stuck his head into Prince Zuko's chamber. His nephew was laying on his sleeping mat, glaring at the ceiling.

"The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels."

"Good riddance to those traitors," Zuko snapped without looking at him.

"It's a lovely night for a walk," Iroh tried. "Why don't you join me? It would clear your head."

Zuko didn't deign him with any response.

"Or just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy." Iroh closer the door behind him gently, then left the ship. He walked down the dock into town, humming the tune of "Four Seasons" with a smile. He didn't notice the brightly colored parrot lizard wheeling above him in the night sky.

Three pirates waited until the old man was completely out of earshot before climbing aboard the vessel. They quickly shuffled across the deck and signaled a small row boat, which had been hiding in the mists nearby. The three on board lowers some hooked ropes, which the other two attached to a pair of large barrels, to be hauled up the side of the ship.

One man, with a single patch of blue hair, nearly dropped his barrel back over the edge. After a bit of stumbling he managed to get a better grip and pull it the rest of the way up. "Careful with the blasting jelly!" came the whispered warning.

The one longest in the face moved to open the outermost door. He turned the large locking wheel, and froze as the ungreased metal let out a slight shriek. After a moment, he decided the best course of action would be to open it as fast as he could and hope to get everything in place before the irate prince found them.

Zuko had heard the squeak of the door, and immediately sat up. "Uncle?" he called. "Uncle, is that you?" He knew it was unlikely, as Iroh generally enjoyed to drag out his walks for an hour or more longer than he had been gone.

When he received no answer, Zuko left his room, stalking down the hall. He remained in a walking back stance, hands up and ready to firebend as necessary.

The pirates set up the barrels in the galley in record time, laid out the fuse to reach the deck, and lit the fuse.

After jumping quickly around several corners, to find nothing waiting for him, he made his way more quickly - and thus, less cautiously - to the bridge. He was looking around curiously when he happened a glance out a window, and recognized the parrot lizard perched there. The animal squawked and flew away.

The prince's eyes widened in horror, and then the first of the blasts went off.

The stream of explosions tore the upper half of the ship to pieces, shaking the dock and causing an echo that was carried across the entire island.

Iroh was halfway up the trail that lead from the inland side of the port town up to a tourist viewpoint at the peak of the small mountain, when the sound reached him. He turned to see the writhing light and smoke coming from the docks, and immediately began running back to the coast, screaming his nephew's name.

The fire was still torrential by the time he made it back, and there was little left of the ship that had been their home for more than three years.

Iroh stared at the blaze in shock and horror, then dropped his head in grief. "Zuko," he moaned. Great and unfeeling, the fire kept on burning.

* * *

Back at the north pole, Yue was gazing thoughtfully up at the sky when Sokka arrived at the bridge.

"Hi, Princess Yue," he said shyly. "I made you something. I carved it myself."

She looked down blankly at the small object he was showing her. It had an identifiable head, and markings that could pass for eyes and a mouth, but it's overall shape was rough and unkempt. It had four stubby limbs, but beyond that...

"It's a bear," she guessed, her voice clearly one of disinterest.

"Actually, it's supposed to be a fish." He turned it in his hand to so its head was to the left. "See it... has a fin," he said as he pointed to one of the stubs that might have otherwise been an arm.

"Oh." That was all she said. She closed her eyes and turned her face away from him.

He was standing there, trying to think of something more to say, when she suddenly straightened.

"I'm sorry, I made a mistake." The princess spun around and told him, "I shouldn't have asked you to come here!" Then she quickly ran off the bridge and down the street, leaving the young warrior wondering what had just happened.

After a moment, Sokka roared quietly and chucked his ugly but heartfelt carving over the side of the bridge and into the canal. His head hung low in sadness and confusion as he walked back to the hut the Gaang would be staying at while they were in the Northern Water Tribe.

"How's warrior training going?" Katara asked almost as soon as he had come in. She, Aang, and Nanuk had been there for some time apparently.

Sokka responded with an angry groan and a kick to his sleeping roll bag. Then he flopped down onto his stomach, using the bag as a pillow to rest his arms and head.

"That bad?" Aang sounded more sympathetic than surprised.

Nanuk shook his head, "I don't think it's that."

Sokka sighed in frustration. "No, it's Princess Yue. I don't get it! One minute she wants to go out with me, and the next, she's telling me to get lost." He huffed, and shifted to a slightly more comfortable position.

"I think that may not be as complicated as you think," Nanuk said carefully.

"Oh really?" Sokka snapped. "Then why don't you enlighten me, Master Know It All?"

"Yue is a princess, and is now of marrying age," the man reminded him softly. "The customs here are strict and often unforgiving. To you, she may be just a pretty girl that you want to get to know better, but she is more than that. She has..." Nanuk furrowed his brow as he searched for the best words. "She has specific obligations. The ways of the Southern Tribe are different, and there is much about this I can't really expect you to understand. You have only been here a couple of days."

His speech ended, Nanuk shook his head and fell silent. Sokka moaned, but decided it was time for a change in topic.

"So how's waterbending training?"

It was Katara and Aang's turn to flop down in resigned frustration. "Master Poop Head won't teach her because she's a girl," the airbender told him.

"Tribal customs again?" the older boy guessed. Aang and Nanuk nodded simultaneously. "Well, why don't you teach her, Aang? You're not a part of the tribe, and you're the Avatar. There's gotta be some lee-way there."

Katara sat up with a grin. "Why didn't I think of that?" she said excitedly. "At night, you can teach me whatever moves you learned from Master Pakku! That way, you get someone to practice with, and I get to learn waterbending! Everyone's happy!"

"Except my father," Nanuk pointed out. The other three turned to him.

"Do you have to tell him?" Sokka raised an eyebrow. Katara and Aang gazed quietly at the icebender, hope and pleading radiating from their faces.

Nanuk sighed. "I suppose not. It's a stupid custom anyway, in my opinion. But," he added quickly, "if the old man does find out, there is nothing I can do to calm his ire. The consequences would be entirely your own. Understand?"

Both of the young bender nodded fervently. Katara jumped up and gave Nanuk a quick, grateful hug, then said, "Come on, Aang!"

After the two ran out, Sokka grumbled, "What about me? Do I get any advice or help or rules to bend?"

Nanuk looked at him askance. "I am close to thirty years old and have never had a girlfriend. I am not the person you want to go to for advice on women."

"And the rule breaking? What about that?"

The older man sighed. "If there is a rule at the root of your problem, it's not for you to break. Yue is the one most affected by these customs and traditions. I am sorry, but I cannot help you." With that, he stood up and left for his own hut.

* * *

A few minutes later, Katara and Aang were standing by a small canal in a fairly remote alley way.

"Master Pakku said this move is all about sinking and floating." Aang pulled some water out of the canal, made it do a slow, smooth swirl in the air, and then sent it to Katara.

Katara caught the water in the air, continuing its motion to make it do a circle. "I got it!" she exclaimed as she held the amorphous orb in front of her.

Suddenly, the water did a fancy series of loops and swirls around her, then shot straight up.

"That was _amazing_!" Aang yelped ecstatically.

"That wasn't me," she told him with a shrug. They both looked up, in time to see Pakku turn the liquid orb into a line of sharp icicles, which he drove angrily into the bridge on which he was standing.

"I was just showing Katara a few moves," the airbender explained lamely.

Pakku stared down at them harshly. With his back stiff and the wind blowing his gray hair, he was a powerful force, not to be reckoned with.

"You have disrespected me, my teachings, and my entire _culture_," he stated ruthlessly.

"I'm sorry! I -" Aang started.

"You are no longer welcome as my student." With that, the old master was gone.

* * *

The next morning, the young trio stood in front of the chief and his council, which had been gathered on a wide, tiered platform beneath a fancy, multi-sectioned arch. Arnook and Pakku sat cross-legged beside each other on the lower ledge, with Princess Yue to her father's right and Nanuk to his father's left. The four elders sat likewise on the higher platform.

Behind this display, the back wall was decorated with the ocean and moon symbols of their nation. Between these symbols, a wide, artificial waterfall drained into a pool beneath and behind the platform. The sides of the pool were lined to the three walls with large snow pots, which also drained water in a steadily flowing stream.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Chief Arnook. "_Force_ Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?" The chief's expression was one of seriousness and diplomacy. Pakku, on the other hand, scowled openly at them. Yue and Nanuk wore identically bland expressions of polite disinterest, neither one letting their budding friendships with the foreigners be acknowledged.

"Yes. Please," Katara added quickly and gently.

"I suspect he _might_ change his mind," the chief focused on her with lowered eyebrows, "If you swallow your pride, and apologize to him."

The southern girl glared at the older waterbender, then she looked back at her friend, and her gaze softened. She sighed. "Fine."

With all the heart of an owl cat about to pounce on a tree mouse, the master grinned snidely. "I'm waiting, little girl."

That was the last straw. Katara's resolve to get along with this man was broken, replaced by a new, more natural resolve. She clenched her fists. "No! No way!"

As she moved her hands to emphasize her anger, the ice and snow at her feet began to crack and shift. Unnoticing, or uncaring, she continued to rant.

"_No way_ am I _apologizing_ to a sour old man like _you!_" The cracks expanded exponentially at the last few words. Two decorative pots on either end of the platform shattered, throwing water everywhere.

"Uh, Katara?" Aang called shyly. He might have been the Avatar, but even he knew to be careful around the fierce young woman when her temper flared.

Katara continued, "I'll be outside if you're _man_ enough to fight me!"

There was a collective gasp from the platform. The elders, the chief, and the princess stared back at her with wide eyes. Pakku's expression hardened, but he said nothing to acknowledge the challenge. Nanuk raised an eyebrow, but could not hold back his interest in this latest development.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Aang tried lamely.

"Yeah, I think she did," Sokka corrected him with a shrug. Aang closed his eyes in frustration, but couldn't really argue.

"Well, that went well," Nanuk piped up.

* * *

Admiral Zhao poured the tea calmly. "I'm devastated to hear about Prince Zuko," he told his guest. "Just _devastated_." His voice didn't carry though; if he cared at all, it wasn't in a sense of upset.

Iroh closed his eyes, letting his grief wash over him. When he could trust himself to remain docile and control his tongue, he opened them and stated, "The Fire Lord will not be pleased when he learns who was responsible."

The younger man's eyes widened slightly behind his own cup. "You know who was behind the attack?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes," Iroh replied. "_Pirates!_" He hit the table with his fist in a rare display of temper. "We had a run in with them a while back. They wanted revenge."

Zhao lit up with a small smile of satisfaction, but quickly hid it by taking a sip of his tea. After a moment, he said, "So, have you reconsidered my offer?"

"Yes, I accept." The old man bowed. "It will be an honor to serve as your General." He lifted his cup, "To the Fire Nation!"

"To _victory!_"

Outside, the fleet was almost completely assembled. They would be leaving soon.

* * *

"Are you _crazy?!_" Sokka pleaded with his sister as she marched down the step to the courtyard. "Katara, you're _not_ gonna win this fight!"

"I know!" she snapped as she removed her thick fur coat and threw it into his arms. "I don't care!"

"You don't have to do this for me! I can find another teacher!" Aang said quickly. He had hoped she would calm down and listen to reason once she was away from Pakku, but it wasn't turning out to be so.

"I'm not _doing_ it for you," she told him. "_Someone_ needs to slap some _sense_ into that guy!"

Turning around, the young waterbender saw Pakku taking slow, deliberate strides down the steps behind them. "So, you decided to show up?" she glared.

Without saying a word, he walked past her, not even sparing her a second glance.

"Aren't you gonna fight?"

The master continued walking. He didn't look back at her as he said blandly, "Go back to the healing huts with the other women, where you belong."

Katara closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Then she pulled some water from the snow she was standing on, and whacked the old man in the shoulder with a water whip. He stopped.

"Fine," he said as he turned around. "If you want to learn to fight so bad, _study closely!_" With a harsh grin, he suddenly pulled a massive amount of water from two nearby pools.

Katara ran toward him, but was easily thrown back by the first attack. She landed in a crouch, but Pakku was already creating a circular river around them. The ring forced her closer to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you!"

The ring shrunk, and she had to jerk forward again. Then she regained her footing, and broke the circle, forcing the water up and away.

A crowd of spectators had gathered, and not all of them were able to get out of the way fast enough. Sokka was washed back by the stray shot.

Pakku created a wave, then refroze it into a wall between himself and his opponent. Katara ran, slid up and over it, flipped, and landed on her feet on top of a wall post.

Pakku unfroze the wave and sent it toward her. Katara set her stance, freezing her feet to the post. With her increased stability, she redirected the water.

"_You can't knock me down!_" Their audience began cheering as she went back on the offensive.

Pakku rose a small wall of ice before him, but Katara unfroze it and struck out at him.

He dodged or blocked her attacks, then pulled some water from the ground and washed her into the nearest pool. He smirked, thinking it was over.

But she stood up, shook out her hair, and was at him again.

The crowd cheered at she turned the pool water into a frozen pillar and began sliding it, throwing the thin, sharp disks at the old man.

Pakku redirected the first three, but barely managed to dodge the fourth. His reflection showed surprise and even fear at it passed within inches of his looked at Katara in shock and confusion. Who was this girl, and where had she learned _that_ move?

But she jumped out of the pool, pulling all the water out with her, sending it at him. Pakku caught the water, redirected it around himself and sent it back to her. Katara was thrown back.

Kneeling, she took a deep, focusing breath. She let it out, clenched her teeth, and went at him again.

She leapt to her feet, pulling down two carved ice totem poles over his head.

Pakku waved his arms, and was lost under a cloud of powder snow. Then the snow cleared.

"Well, I'm impressed. You are an excellent waterbender."

"But you still won't teach me, will you?"

"NO."

Katara growled, and threw a frozen rolling wave at him. Pakku rose himself up on a huge stone pillar. He turned it into a slushy wave and rode it straight at her.

Katara threw a large stream at him, but he redirected it back to her, froze it, and slid along it, knocking her to the ground. Her necklace flew off.

She had hardly had time to stand up before he drew up all the water from the second pool, and brought down a rain of icicles. The icicles formed a prison around her.

The women and children of the gathered spectators gasped, covering mouths and looking away.

Katara fought against the binds, grunting and growling with effort, frustration, and anger.

"This fight is over," Pakku announced, and he began to walk away.

"Come back here! I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes, you are." Pakku made to leave, but stopped in his tracks as something on the ground caught his eye. He stooped to pick it up. "This... is my necklace!" he murmured with astonishment.

"No, it's not, it's _mine!_" yelled Katara. "Give it _back_ to me!"

"I made this necklace almost sixty years ago," he gazed into empty space in his remembering. "For the love of my life. For Kanna."

The ice holding Katara melted and fell to the ground with an ignored splash.

"My Gran Gran was supposed to marry _you?_" she gasped in surprise and awe. _Him?_

* * *

Elsewhere, on a flagship to the largest Fire Nation fleet assembled since Fire Lord Sozin had wiped out the Air Nomads, organized chaos was underway in preparation for the nearing departure.

General Iroh strode casually down a corridor that was mostly unused for the moment. Everyone was too busy with their own jobs to pay attention to anybody else, but it was best not to risk having this conversation overheard.

Right on schedule, a firebender turned the corner. The two paused as they passed each other.

"Our plan is working perfectly," Iroh murmured. "Zhao does not suspect a thing."

The bender removed his mask, revealing the cracked, blistered, and cut face of Prince Zuko.

"You didn't have to do this."

"No nephew of mine is going to stow away without some back up!" The old master admonished.

"Thank you, Uncle."

A light slam sounded in the next corridor, followed by the steady clank of footsteps.

"Someone is coming," Iroh observed, and the banished prince replaced his mask. "Stay hidden until we get to the north pole, and the Avatar will be yours." He wished the young man luck, and the two parted ways.

* * *

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged," Master Pakku said quietly, his back to the girl who might have been his granddaughter, had things been different. His son watched on with some dark, but gentle, emotion on his face.

"I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her." The old man hung his head sadly, the relic from his past still in his hands.

"But she didn't love you, did she?" Katara guessed, her voice full of pity and new understanding. "It was an arranged marriage." Nanuk silently observed the tears forming in the princess's eyes, but let the conversation continue as it was.

"Gran Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. _That's_ why she left," she deduced. She took a step toward Pakku, but both turned away. The old man couldn't look into Katara's eyes, and she was distracted by other things.

"It must have taken a lot of courage." The words were hardly out of the young waterbender's mouth, and Yue burst into tears and ran away, sobbing.

Sokka sent a surprised look at Aang and Nanuk. Aang looked just as confused as the warrior felt, but the icebender clearly knew what was wrong. In any case, both of his friends softly smiled to him.

"Go get her." Aang jumped at the sound of Nanuk's voice overlapping his own, but the man just shrugged.

Sokka ran after the princess. He eventually found her on the bridge where they had arranged to meet before.

"What do you _want_ from me?" she demanded softly, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

He put his hands up defensively. "Nothing." He took another step towards her, holding his arms out in a half-shrug. "I just want you to know... I think you're beautiful. And... I never thought a girl like you could notice a guy like me."

"You don't understand -"

"No, no. See, that's the thing. I think I _do_ understand now." She looked up in surprise, and he continued, "You're a princess, and _I'm_... I'm just a southern peasant." He closed his eyes and bowed his head in shame.

"No! Sokka -"

"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. I see you around, okay?" He waved shortly, and turned to walk away.

Suddenly, she grabbed his arm, pulling him into a kiss. Once the initial shock wore off, he took a moment to enjoy it. When it ended, he shook the fuzziness from his head and stepped back.

"Okay, now I'm REALLY confused! Happy," he added with a smile, "but... _confused_." He raised an eyebrow, trying to figure this girl out. Yue leaned forward, holding his hands.

"I _do_ like you," she told him. "A lot! But we _can't_ be together. And _not _for the reason you think!" Sokka listened quietly, his head reeling. She liked him! But... then why -?

"It's because.. I'm engaged," she announced quietly, pulling the neckline of her coat down to show him the significant piece of jewelry wrapped around her throat. He stepped back again, wrapping his head around this. Engaged?!

"I'm sorry," she told him. Then she ran off, leaving him alone on the bridge again. Except this time, he knew why.

* * *

The next morning, Aang demonstrated a basic waterbending move in front of his class. He moved the small, even orb up over his head, then sent it away back to a pool a few yards off. Thinking he had done rather well, looked to Master Pakku with a proud grin.

"Not bad, not bad," the old master said with a chuckle. "Keep practicing, and maybe you'll get it by the time you're _my_ age!"

Aang's smile dropped for a moment as he turned away, but the expression of contentment quickly returned when he saw Katara running up the stairs and into the courtyard.

She stood beside him for a moment, panting hard. She had found the scroll when she had woken up, and had dressed and come as quickly as possible.

Pakku scowled. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. Katara looked at him in surprise and disappointment for a moment, but then her new teacher's expression softened again. "It's past sunrise," he told her with a mischievous grin. "You're _late_."

Katara beamed as she took her place among the students.

"Good to see ya here," her powerful friend whispered, as they took their stances.

"You too," she returned happily. And so her first waterbending lesson began.


	2. Siege of the North, Part 1

The sound of flowing water, ever present in the frozen city that was home to the people of the Northern Water Tribe, came both furiously and calmly from the training courtyard just below the chief's palace. It was sparring day for the pupils of the master waterbender, Pakku. Then came a moment of dangerous stillness, as the next contender took his place in the ring.

Sanguk, a particularly skinny young man, shook slightly as he faced off with the only female in the class. Katara had proven herself to be more than competent at her chosen field of study. She smirked confidently.

Unable to wait her out, the boy drew up water from the ground, creating a large spinning sphere that hung in the air just before him. He froze the water, and sent the giant snowball straight for his opponent, who caught, redirected, and melted it. The returned liquid came up as a large wave, which she turned to ice a split second after he was caught up by it.

As her prisoner groaned and waved his limbs from his perch, Katara released a relaxing breath, and performed the ritual motion to still the energy within her.

"Nice try, Pupil Sanguk," said Pakku as he walked past his star student. "A couple of more years, and you might be ready to fight a _sea sponge_." The master turned his back on the loser, and with a single distinct motion, turned the ice back to liquid water. Sanguk fell to the ground with a resounding splash.

"Would anyone care for a rematch with Katara?" he asked, surveying the line of dismayed boys. All were soaked, a few were still half-buried in snow, and one particularly cocky young man had been given artificially spiked hair, courtesy of the icicles no one was willing to melt for him. Nanuk was perfectly content working on imitating said hairstyle on himself, and clearly had no interest in being pushed under a waterfall again. Pakku turned back to the southern waterbender.

"Katara, you've advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained. You have proven that with fierce determination, passion, and hard work, you can accomplish anything." Katara smiled proudly at the praise, rare from this particular man, who next sent a dirty look at his youngest pupil. "Raw talent _alone_ is not enough."

Aang was lounging at the end of the line, giving Momo a ride on a miniature floating air scooter. He sat up with a start when Pakku called, "Pupil Aang!"

"Yes, Master Pakku?" The air scooter dissolved and the lemur fell onto the boy's bald head.

"Care to step into the sparring circle?" Pakku asked silkily. "I figure, since you've found time to play with housepets, you must have already mastered waterbending."

Momo jumped off and glided a few feet away, and the young Avatar used Airbending to leap to his feet. "Well, I wouldn't say _mastered_ but... check this out!" With that, he spun in a slow circle, gathering snow around himself to form a roughly shaped snowman. Momo took one look at the white being and pounced, knocking him down. Aang grinned at his pet's antics.

Pakku scowled and shook his head in resignation, and even Katara was annoyed with her friend's lack of seriousness. Nanuk shot him a thumbs up from outside of his father's line of sight, then went back to spiking his hair. Aang might have been more contrite had he not seen that little signal.

* * *

"So they don't have palaces in the Southern Tribe?" Princess Yue inquired. She was walking genteelly back and forth across a snow bridge in the lower city, alongside Sokka, who was practicing a balanced march along the bridge's wall.

"Are you kidding?" he asked. He dropped to a sitting position, letting his feet hang over the wall, his toes a few inches above the walkway. "I grew up on a block of ice. It's not exactly a cultural hub."

Yue chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder. The young warrior smiled, but she removed it shortly, her own mirth quickly gone.

"Sokka, this is wrong."

"What's wrong?" He held his arms wide in a motion of all around questioning. "We're taking a walk."

"I'm _engaged_," she reminded him. "It just feels..." She turned away from him, and he watched her with an expression of hurt, disappointment, and thoughtfulness. Suddenly, he smiled widely.

"I know what you need." He jumped off the wall. His arms were out wide again, this time in invitation. "You need to meet my good friend Appa."

The princess cocked her head curiously. "Who?"

A few minutes later, the two approached the royal stables. The stalls were designed for buffalo yak, and as such, the sky bison was far too massive to fit inside one. The hulking, furry creature stood over ten feet at the shoulder, and was almost twenty feet long. He was currently chowing down on a large pile of dried seaweed in a paddock enclosed by the U shape of the stable.

"Appa and I go way back," he told her. "Don't we boy?"

The bison responded with a great, rumbling moan. Appa charged the young warrior, knocking him to the ground and licking him wildy.

"Ack! Easy, _easy!_ Down boy! Ah, no, _up!_"

"Looks like you haven't been giving Appa enough attention," the princess observed with a laugh.

After Appa had sufficiently soaked Sokka in drool, the boy helped Yue onto the bison's back and into the saddle.

"So how does this work?" She asked, settling down beside him.

"You hangin' on tight?" he asked. She nodded. Sokka grinned smugly, and commanded, "Yip. Yip."

Appa shot into the air, and the princess yelled excitedly, "Oooh, my _goodness!_"

They soon reached a comfortable altitude and slid into an easy, meandering cruise. The waters of the Northern Sea shimmered in the midday sunlight, and the snowy landscape of the glacier and the city glowed a brilliant white. There was a breeze up that high, and the ever present chill of the pole was magnified.

"Wow!" exclaimed the princess, as she leaned over the side to catch the view. "I can't believe you do this every day!"

Sokka stretched coolly, saying, "Yeah, we pretty much live up here." He rested his chin on one hand, his elbow leaning on the bar horn of the saddle, and took a moment to watch her with a dreamy expression.

"Is it always this cold in the sky?" she asked with an exaggerated shiver. She leaned in closer, halfway cuddling with the young man.

Sokka started, and a slight sadness broke through his smiling eyes. "Not when you're with someone," he told her softly.

"It's beautiful up here."

"Yeah."

Almost without noticing, the two stared into each other's eyes and began leaning forward, slowly, slowly... Then, just as they were about to kiss, both suddenly realized what was about to happen and straightened, quickly backing to a more casual distance.

"Hoooo! _Yeah..._" Sokka let out a deep exhale, looking everywhere but at the princess. "Good times, good times."

Yue blushed, also scrambling for a change in topic. Her thoughts were soon interrupted, however, by a surprised shout.

"Hey, look!" The boy pointed around them. Snow had begun falling, but instead of the usual shining bluish white and delicate crystals, these flakes were dull, sluggish, and grey. Appa rumbled in clear displeasure.

"What's happening?" The princess asked, almost frantically.

The only reply was a quiet mournful, "Oh no..."

* * *

Meanwhile, the waterbending lesson was over. Aang was laughing wildly as he rolled around in the snow while Momo looked on curiously. As the lemur saw the weather beginning to change, he opened his mouth and let a snowflake fall in. Almost immediately, he began choking and coughing, trying to spit out the half-swallowed muck.

The sound of his pet hacking like a chinchilla cat with a hairball drew Aang's attention. He stopped sat up and stole a glance at Momo, then looked around at the grey matter with an uneasy curiosity.

Pakku halted his conversation with two of the tribal elders, watching the water of a nearby fountain begin to run dark and grey as the strange new snow fell into it, mixing with a clean water and changing it.

Nanuk was escorting Katara to the healing hut for her special lesson with Yaguda when she stopped. Her face darkened with unhappy expectation and anger as she looked at the snow falling around her. She knew what it was; she had seen it long ago.

"So, it is today," the icebender stated monotonously. He motioned for the girl to follow him, and they ran to the chief's palace as quickly as their legs could carry them. Others of the tribe watched them pass, wondering about the man's unusual pace and about the strange snow that fell all around them, covering everything with a thin layer of grey ick.

* * *

"Soot."

"What?" Princess Yue asked. They were standing on a glacier, and her companion was kneeling down, examining the fallen grey stuff. He picked up a sticky wad and smelled it carefully.

"I've seen it before," Sokka told her. "Right before my village was attacked. It's soot mixed with snow."

"But, why?"

The warrior shook his head, standing up, and gazed out to sea. "It's the Fire Nation. They've closed in on the North Pole. And from the looks of this stuff," he added darkly, "I'd say there's a lot of them."

* * *

Elsewhere, on a flag ship not too far out to sea, Admiral Zhao and the Fire Lords portly brother stood on a small platform over the main deck. Both wore thick cloaks, unusual for any firebender, but necessary in such a cold environment. Zhao looked out to sea, envisioning his distant target and his goals to be met there, with a sinister grin. Iroh looked on, more sedately.

"This will truly be one for the history books, General Iroh," the younger man proclaimed with a fire in his eyes. "Just think, centuries from now, people will study the great Admiral Zhao, who destroyed the last of the polar Water Tribe civilization. You're lucky you're here to see it."

Iroh closed his eyes from a moment, then replied, "Be careful what you wish for, Admiral. History is not always kind to it's subjects."

"I suppose you speak from experience." Zhao watched the older man through the corner of his eyes. "But rest assured, this will be nothing like your legendary failure at Ba Sing Sei."

"I hope not, for your sake."

Zhao took a deep, cleansing breath. With a wild, feral grin, he ordered Iroh, "Tell the captains to prepare for First Strike."

Iroh nodded respectfully, and strode back inside. After he had delivered the orders to the captain of the flagship and seen the messenger hawks sent to the rest of the fleet, he then went back toward a particularly unused corridor. As he passed a number of firebenders, soldiers, and crew members following orders and and rushing about to complete their own tasks, he hummed a specific tune. The general was known to hum or sing as the desire struck him, so none of them took any real notice of it. However, one firebender in particular did take notice, and recognizing the tune, went to meet at a predetermined place.

The two stopped in passing for just a moment. They did not have much time, but they did not need it. The news was brief.

"We will be landing soon. Do you have a plan?"

Zuko only partially removed his mask, and only long enough to respond, "I'm working on it, Uncle." He replaced the mask, and the two continued on their ways.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nanuk and Katara had convinced the chief to sound the alarm. As two men pounded a massive drum, citizens rushed to the palace in urgent but controlled chaos. The women and children were being herded into an underground cavern for safekeeping, and the men (plus Katara and Yue, being a powerful waterbender and the princess, respectively) were gathering in the throne room for a war meeting with the chief and council of elders.

Sokka had left Appa just inside the courtyard. He and Yue were running up the stairs into the palace when the princess suddenly stopped, pulling her hand out of his.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "We have to go!"

"No, Sokka," she said firmly. "Wait." He obliged, though his impatience was clear on his face.

"I can't see you any more. Not at all."

"What?! But we're just friends!" The young man threw his arms up in confused frustration.

"I wish we _could _be just friends," the princess pleaded quietly. "But I like you too much, and it's just too confusing to be around you. I'm _marrying _someone _else!_"

Sokka stared at her for a moment, and something clicked. "You don't love him. Do you?" It wasn't as much of a question as it should have been. "You don't even seem to _like_ him."

"But I _do_ love my people." She turned away, not willing or able to look into his eyes.

"You're not marrying _them!_"

"You don't understand!" she shook her head vehemently. "I have duties to my father, to my _tribe_. I have to do this. Good bye!"

Tears broke out over her face as she suddenly forced her way past him and into the palace. He stared after her mournfully for a few minutes, unsure what to do and wishing there were something he could say. But there wasn't.

When he finally entered the meeting chamber, he saw Yue sitting on the platform beside her father, Master Pakku and Nanuk. She had schooled her features back into an expression of overall concern, but with a lack of the tears or inner turmoil he had just witnessed. Nanuk glanced over to her, then met Sokka's gaze with hidden understanding and empathy.

This bit of communication only deepened Sokka's sorrow, and he took a seat in the corner, beside his sister and Aang.

Chief Arnook stood to address the gathered warriors and waterbenders.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the Great Spirits. Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon, be with us!"

The power of his speech imprinted upon everyone there to hear it. Pakku's signature scowl deepened, but the usual cruelty and cynicism of the expression was markedly absent. Yue's already regal posture straightened further. Nanuk closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between his hands. Sokka's shoulders drooped, and Katara's eyes lit up in quiet determination. Many of the warriors and waterbenders, including the star student in Sokka's class, Han, clenched fists, straightened necks, and set their faces in grim to fierce acceptance of the battle ahead.

"I am going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission," the chief announced.

Sokka immediately stood up. "Count me in!"

Katara stared up at her brother in surprise. "Sokka!" she gasped. He ignored her as other warriors began standing up to accept the mission.

"Be warned," Arnook told them solemnly. "Many of you will _not_ return. Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task."

The men began lining up before him. Han moved to be first in line, and Sokka came a few places behind him.

As his turn came, the southern boy leaned forward, and the chief made three vertical, waving lines upon his forehead in red paint. As he began to walk away, he turned back for one last look at Yue. The princess met his eyes for only a moment, then closed her own, fighting tears with her chin jutting out stubbornly. Nanuk put a hand on the younger boy's shoulder, then motioned for him to take his place among the others.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the remaining warriors and waterbenders were in place. The massive ice wall had been reinforced, and the scout ships were out creating more frozen obstacles at sea and keeping watch for the arriving fleet.

Aang was perched on a large pot in the courtyard, at the top of the city stairs. His staff was held in hand, and Momo sat on his head, watching with as much focus as the lemur could manage. He noticed the chief coming up behind him, but didn't turn his head to acknowledge the man.

"The stillness before battle is... unbearable." Arnook observed. "Such a quiet dread."

"I wasn't there when the Fire Nation attacked _my_ people," Aang told him with an edge in his tone which the man had not heard before. "I'm going to make a difference this time." The boy stood tall, prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect the people he cared about. He was the Avatar, and this was what he was destined to do.

* * *

It was only a few more hours before a tiny ship became visible on the horizon. As the gathered members of the water tribe looked on from the top of the great wall, a tiny glowing speck appeared on the ship's deck and was flung toward them. The object grew in their vision as it came closer, and many people were thrown back by the impact when the huge fire ball crashed into the great wall. Ice cracked, snow fell, and some people were fairly well buried in the wet rubble. A cry of "Brace yourselves!" was the only warning they had before two more fire balls came crashing down. These made it past the walls and into the heart of the lower city, but luckily missed any major structures

"Katara!" Sokka called out. He began digging furiously, freeing first Momo and then a random warrior.

A snow drift suddenly began to shift and whirl about, and then the female waterbender stood up and sent it all away. She shook out her hair, then looked at the sky.

As the next few came flying at them, Aang threw himself onto Appa's head and shouted, "Yip yip!" The Avatar and his animal guardian headed out to face the Fire Nation navy.

Four more fireballs were launched by the lead ship, but Aang managed to deflect one, sending it into the untamed ice cap. The rest barraged the city and its wall, creating large pocks and holes in the wall and smashing several of the outer longhouses. The waterbenders put out the fires before they could spread, but the initial force of the impact was far more damaging than the flames themselves. Most of the city's architecture was made of ice and snow, after all.

"I'll take it from here, boy!" Aang threw himself off of Appa and opened his staff into its glider form. He maneuvered between fire balls and blasts sent by soldiers on the ship. As he landed on the deck, he did a wide wind sweep, throwing many of the soldiers overboard.

Seeing five massive metal trebuchets on deck, he quickly air jumped onto one to find a way to disable it.

Three soldiers chased him up the arm of the trebuchet, attacking him with hammers. The airbender did a few simple flips, dodging his way further up the large projectile weapon. With one soldier on the arm and two more coming from the sides at the top, Aang was in a bad spot. He stepped back to dodge a blow from the one on the arm, and the hammer left a large dent in the metal where he had been standing.

This step also put him directly in the path of the other two. He jumped straight up, and their attacks also landed on the weapon.

Seeing the damage done by the soldiers, he created one sharp air blast downward. The pressure put on the already weakened metal caused it to give way, and the machine fell apart.

The soldiers were lost beneath the smoke and rubble but Aang had landed elsewhere on deck and was making his way to the second trebuchet.

He he grabbed a fallen hammer and wedged it into the chain net holding its fire ball. Then he released the trebuchet's lock mechanism, causing it to fire. The net was held closed by the hammer, and the fireball came smashing down onto the deck, leaving a huge hole in the ship. Aang blasted a coming Fire Nation soldier away, then ran for the next two weapons.

The soldiers were beyond furious now, and they all converged on him. The young Avatar quickly tied a knot in the sling chains of the trebuchets, ran away from the oncoming group, and fired the forward most trebuchet.

It yanked the second one up off the deck and into itself, destroying them both as the rearward weapon sailed over the group of the soldiers. Aang grinned wildly, and made for the last weapon.

The last of the soldiers, a tall brawny man with a bushy black beard and a thick braid coming off the side of his otherwise bald head, scowled at the destruction and charged the boy.

Aang heaved a found hammer up over his head, but before he could bring it down on the firing mechanism, he glanced behind him. Dropping the hammer, he jumped out of the way of two oncoming attacks, then ducked to the far side of the trebuchet.

Unfortunately, this man's hammers were attached to the ends of long chains. He threw his weapons around each side of the trebuchet, trapping Aang and tying him to the huge machine.

Aang took a moment to fight the binds, groaning with effort, but a massive hulking furball suddenly swooped down from the sky. Appa grabbed the comparatively small man in one paw, and threw him off the side of the ship with a rumbling growl. The chains holding the airbender broke and started to fall.

"Appa!" Aang shouted gleefully as he shoved the chains away. He plastered himself across the sky bison's forehead in a hug. "Thanks for the rescue, buddy!"

The moment was short-lived, as a huge spire of ice impaled the ship, destroying the final trebuchet as it broke through the deck beneath it.

Several small boats of waterbenders had come up beside the ship, freezing the water and drawing it upwards.

"Even the Avatar can use a little help sometimes!" called the voice of Nanuk. "Together, we can do this!"

With the ship out of commission and the overboard soldiers imprisoned in the new iceberg, Aang mounted Appa and flew upward to find his next target.

What he saw brought a chill through his bones, more than the cold of the northern air could.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he breathed.

All that effort to take out the lead ship, and there on the horizon were hundreds upon hundreds more, a fleet the size of which could not have been imagined. Even when Sozin had sent the entirety of his military force against the Air Nomads, he had separated that force to attack multiple targets simultaneously. A gathering of this size was almost beyond comprehension, except as a dark, overwhelming despair.

* * *

"Men," Chief Arnook addressed his gathered volunteers. "You'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation navy. That means you'll all need one of these uniforms." He motioned to Han, who walked out with a smug grin. The spikes on his shoulders were comically large; perhaps the size had been designed to look threatening, but the effect was wasted on Sokka, who laughed from the back of the crowd.

"What's your problem?" demanded the snide northern warrior.

"Fire Nation uniforms don't look like that!" Sokka pointed with suppressed mirth.

"Of course they do!" Han scoffed. "These are _real_ uniforms, captured from _actual_ Fire Navy soldiers!"

"When, like, a hundred years ago?" Sokka smirked.

"Eighty-five," the chief commented blandly. The southern boy nodded, and stepped forward.

"The Fire Nation doesn't wear shoulder spikes anymore. The newer uniforms are more streamlined." He walked over to Han and gave one spike an experimental flick. The fire cured black leather was stiff but springy, and it vibrated with a nice _twayayayayang_ for a moment before returning completely to it's original position.

"How do we know we can even trust this guy?" Han challenged haughtily. "Such bold talk for a new recruit!"

"Sokka is a member of our sister tribe, Han," the chief interjected firmly. "He is a capable warrior, he has traveled with the Avatar, and _I _value his input." Sokka grinned smugly at the self-absorbed young man. Turning back to the rest of the assembly, Arnook continued, "Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer."

Sokka raised his hand. "His name is Admiral Zhao." Seeing the blank look he received from the chief and the other warriors, he clarified, "Middle aged, big sideburns, bigger temper?"

Everyone stared at the young foreigner for a moment. Finally, Chief Arnook spoke up. "Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to Han. He's leading this mission. Han, show Sokka you're respect." With a calm but serious glance at the older boy, he added, "I expect nothing less from my future son in law."

Sokka's jaw dropped at this revelation, but Han merely sniffed and pushed his bangs back cooly.

"Princess Yue is marrying YOU?"

"Yeah," Han scoffed. "What of it?"

"Nothing," came the quick reply. There was no smile in his voice as the southern warrior gave his arrogant mission leader an insincere congratulations on the engagement.

* * *

"Admiral Zhao," called Iroh as he entered the commander's private quarters. "The sun is going down, and I believe we should wait until daybreak. The waterbenders gain their power from the moon, and it is almost full tonight. As your military consultant, I must advise you to hold off your attack!"

"Oh, I'm aware of the moon problem," Zhao replied darkly, "and I am working on a solution. For now, however, daybreak it is."

The order was sent out, and every ship dropped anchor.

* * *

"They've stopped firing," Princess Yue observed from a palace balcony. Katara saw the sky bison approaching wearily, and called out.

"Aang!" The young waterbender ran out to meet her friend. The airbender near fell off his mount, either landing on his rear or collapsing into a sitting position the moment his feet touched the ground.

"I can't do it," he gasped with exhaustion. "I just can't do it."

"What do you mean?" Katara asked.

"I must have taken out a _dozen_ Fire Navy ships, but there's just _too many_ of them! There's _no way_ I can fight them all."

"But... you _have_ to!" Yue pleaded. "You're the Avatar!"

"I'm just one kid," Aang said with despair. He put his arms across his knees and buried his head in them.

Nanuk's patrol boat landed, and the man came running up. His unkempt hair was coming out of its normal wolf tail, and his coat was singed in a few places.

"I saw Appa flying slow and wobbly!" he called. "Is he hurt? Is Aang okay?"

"Appa's fine, I think," Katara told him. "Just tired. And Aang is worried he won't be strong enough to fight the rest of the Fire Navy."

"Well, that makes sense. He is just one kid after all. Of course he can't fight them all on his own."

Katara stared in horror at how bluntly and easily the icebender could say such a thing. Aang became even more demoralized, and in seconds his body began to shake by the force of his sobs.

Nanuk stared down on the boy softly, then knelt beside him. "Hey, look at me." When the young airbender didn't oblige, Nanuk shook his head and pulled the boy's chin up. "Aang, you can't do this alone, but you don't _have_ to in the first place. You are NOT alone. There are people all around you, fighting with you. We all support each other. It may be your destiny to save the world, but nowhere does the legend say you're supposed to do that without help."

Aang stared into the dark recesses of the man's night blue eyes. They were full of emotion, of sadness, relief, determination, peace, sympathy... There was also something behind them, a strange silvery light he couldn't identify...

"Now, put on your brave face, little hero. We've a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and you can't help anyone if you don't even try."

Adng blinked and shook himself out of his reverie, and a small, shaky smile lit up his face. Nanuk returned the smile, and wiped the tears from the young Avatar's face. Hands together, the two stood. On impulse, Aang suddenly hugged the icebender. Nanuk was surprised at first, but settled into it and squeezed back gently.

"Thanks, Nanuk."

"No problem, kiddo."

* * *

There was a faint squeak as Iroh opened the metal door and came into the cargo hold where the survival canoe was stowed. He didn't need long to take in the pale grey outfit, the rope, and the ponytail that swayed a bit as the young man feverishly finished his preparations.

"You are fishing for an octopus, my nephew. You must use a tightly woven net, or he will squeeze through the tiniest hole and escape."

"I don't need your wisdom right now, Uncle," Zuko replied without looking behind him.

The general took a few steps closer. "I'm sorry. I just nag you because... Well, ever since I lost my son..." Iroh turned away to hide his tears.

"You don't have to say it, Uncle."

"I think of you as my own."

Zuko closed his eyes and collected himself, then turned around. "I know, Uncle." He bowed. "We'll meet again."

Iroh rushed forward and hugged his nephew for all he was worth. The prince let him do so for a moment, but gently pushed him away after a few seconds.

"_After_ I have the Avatar." He turned back to the boat and climbed in. As he took hold of the ropes from which the boat hung and let them slip through his hands, carefully lowering the boat into the water, Iroh threw out more bits of advice. The old man's expression did not betray his feelings, but his voice did.

"Don't forget your breath of fire; it could save your life out there!"

"I won't."

"And put your hood up! Keep your ears warm!"

"I'll be fine!" Zuko reassured him with a hint of a chuckle. Iroh let the worry reach his face as he watched his nephew set the boat into the water and swiftly rowed away under cover of darkness.

* * *

"Let me tell you, Soh-ka," Han mispronounced the southern boy's name without care, and continued sharpening his axe blade on his spinning stone. "I've courted a lot of girls, but Princess Yue is the finest, _and _she comes with the most perks."

Sokka's eyes widened in surprise and disgust at this. "Perks?! What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I mean, Yue's nice and everything, but the points I'll gain with he chief aren't bad either." The older boy smirked.

Sokka growled and put more pressure of his own sharpening blade. "Princess Yue is _wasted_ on a self-absorbed weasel like you!"

Han stopped and looked at his "companion" in surprise and judgement. "Woah, hang on! What do _you_ care? You're just a simple brute from the Southern Tribe. What would _you_ know of the political complexities of _our_ life? No offense," he added with a sneer.

Sokka roared and threw himself at Yue's betrothed. The two went sprawling across the floor, and as Sokka wrestled to be on top and began wailing on the northern prick, he shouted, "And you're just a jerk without a soul! NO OFFENSE!"

Han roared in his own turn, and flipped the peasant boy off him, trying to get on top himself. He failed to hold Sokka down, however. The two continued to roll violently until Chief Arnook came and grabbed them both by their hoods. "That's enough!" He stood them up and shoved them apart. "Sokka, you are off the mission!"

As the chief stalked away, the young southern warrior stared in disbelief, several loosened hairs hanging in front of his wide eyes. Han sneered at the younger warrior, then strutted like a barnyard cow rooster to the front of the room.

"Alright, fall in men!" he commanded pompously. "Everybody listen to what I say, and we'll take out this Admiral Cho in no time!"

As the group followed the snarky young man out, Sokka called after him, "It's Admiral ZHAO!" His call fell on deaf ears, and he resorted to crossing his arms in defiant discontent.

* * *

Harems of arctic turtle seals barked, squealed, and moaned from their places on the icebergs as Zuko paddled his kayak between them in the dark. A guard on the damaged fortress wall stopped and glanced out over the icy water, but seeing nothing, he continued his rounds. Zuko darted as quickly as he could out from behind one large block of ice to another, making his way to the base of the wall.

He stowed his kayak on the far side of an iceberg and climbed up the piece of frozen landscape, peeking over to watch another patrol group cross the wall. He wouldn't get in that way, not undetected. And his mission required the greatest stealth to even have a chance at success.

A group of turtle seals burst into noise, barking loudly as they dove into a hole in the ice to escape the human that might have been a hunter.

"Where are they going?" Zuko murmured as he examined the hole. "They're coming up for air somewhere..." Seeing few other options, he took a deep breath and dove in as well, following the dark shapes as they glided through the water.

* * *

"The legends say the moon was the first waterbender," Yue told her friends quietly as they gazed up at the bright circle from a high chateau at the palace. "Our answers saw how it pushed and pulled the tides, and learned to do it themselves."

"I've always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night!" Katara breathed. Aang rested his chin on his hands, leaning on the short wall as he pondered how he might possibly succeed at bringing peace back into the lives of the people in the Northern Water Tribe. Nanuk had reminded him earlier about an ancient Air Nomad proverb, that taught to focus on the moment at hand, rather than the possible problems to come in the future. He was destined to end the war and save the world, but right now, he just needed to save the tribe. Everything else would come in its own time. Nanuk had refused to comment on how he knew this part of Aang's culture, but it didn't really make a large difference.

"Personally, I've always had a stronger connection to the ocean than the moon," Nanuk joked. "I'm a great swimmer!" He puffed out his chest and made some very comical paddling motions with his arms. Aang smiled a bit at the man's antics, but couldn't shake off the uneasy feelings.

"Our strength comes from the spirit of the moon, our life comes from the spirit of the ocean. They work together to keep balance," the princess continued. That's when it hit Aang.

"The spirits!" he exclaimed. "Maybe I can find them and get their help!"

"How can you do that?" Yue asked.

"The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world," Katara reminded her, hope lighting up her voice. "Aang can talk to them!"

"Perhaps they might be willing to give you wisdom to help win this battle," Nanuk suggested sagely.

"Or maybe they'll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!" Aang shouted with a huge excited smile. The girls stared at him blankly. Nanuk grinned at the boy's enthusiasm, but raised his eyebrows at the logic of it.

Seeing their expressions, Aang quickly amended, "Or wisdom. Wisdom is good too." He leaned back casually on the short wall, schooling his features into something he hoped appeared more mystical and wise. Nanuk laughed out loud at this.

"But the only problem is," Katara interjected, "Last time you got to the spirit world by accident. How are you going to get there this time?"

Yue and Nanuk shared a glance, and the icebender nodded. "I think the princess and I may have an idea. Follow us!"

They led the two foreigners through an unfamiliar series of corridors. Pausing before an unusually blank space of wall, Nanuk blushed.

"Um, Katara, could you please melt this section of wall right here? I... can't."

"Why?" she furrowed her brows inquisitively.

"You will see in a moment," Yue told her. "I would have asked if he hadn't. There's something on the other side that I think could help Aang."

Katara shrugged and obliged. Nanuk let the others go before him, then turned and created a thin barrier of snow on the palace side of the wall opening.

"I'm hiding this place from anyone who might be on the other side," he explained. "It's not completely invisible; it's just intended to escape notice of a casual observer's quick glance. The barrier is thin enough that it can be broken easily enough if one had to leave quickly, without time to melt it."

The hole in the wall opened to a small, hidden courtyard behind the palace. Across the courtyard was a barrier constructed of wood and stone, twenty feet tall with a decorative awning. A short path from the hidden palace entrance to the stone wall was lined with decorative pots, and led to a small circular door made of wood. Yue moved ahead and stood next to the little door, facing them expectantly.

"So... Is this the way to the spirit world?" Aang asked as he approached the door. At its highest point it only came up to his shoulder, and at its lowest point it was halfway up his shin.

Yue chuckled. "No, you'll have to get _there_ on your own. But I _can_ take you to the most spiritual place in the entire north pole." Opening the door, she motioned for him to step through. He did, and was amazed by what he saw.

The edge of a natural pool sat a few inches from where he stood, and at the far end of the pond was a green, leafy little island oasis. There was a thin ledge of a pathway around each side of the pond, connected to the island by a short decorative bridge. There were a few short trees and some tall bamboo grasses at the far side of the island, and almost directly in the middle, there was a small spring, mostly round with a section of land extending inwards a short ways on one side. This caused an almost crescent shape to the little pool, not unlike when the earth's shadow was just beginning to pass over the moon at the beginning of a lunar eclipse. An arch stretched over that concave piece of shore. Two rather large koi fish, one black with a white spot in its head, and one white with a black spot on its head, swam in a circle in the center of the pond. The whole of the island was covered in a thick, short layer of the well-groomed lawn grass favored by high society Earth Kingdom citizens. As with the rest of the city, the place was protected on three sides by massive cliffs of ice. An immensely tall natural waterfall careened down from the farthest cliff into the lake behind the island.

Aang giggled wildly as he literally flew over one of the bridges to the island, landing on hand and knees on the colorful living carpet. "I never thought I'd miss grass this much!" he exclaimed happily, as he flipped onto his back. The city's architecture was beautiful, to be sure, but the endless white landscape of ice and snow and sea had become rather monotonous after a while. He simply hadn't noticed it before, precisely because of that consistency.

"It's so _warm_ in here," Katara observed with amazement. "How is that possible?"

"It's the center of all spiritual energy in this land," Nanuk told her as he crossed the bridge behind her. Both moved to take off their thick outer coats, and Katara was surprised to see a fairly large medallion hanging from a long pale leather cord around his neck. Four straight feathers, several small sun bleached bones, and a pattern of colorful beads also decorated the cord, though the disk was the centerpiece and clearly the most important. One each side, one feather was bright blue and red, the other was black, and the beads were light blue, brown, dull red, and white, respectively. The bones were flat and curved, quite possibly ribs from small animals, cut to be just shorter than the feathers. The medallion itself was made of ivory, about twice the size of the circle on her own necklace, and carved with a simple yet clear image of a bear. The edge of the disk and the outline of the image were both painted a silvery grey, just dark enough to be visibly contrasted to the natural color of the ivory. The whole thing resembled a fancy cross between Arnook's ceremonial necklace, and something she had seen on a statue at one of the Air Temples. He untwisted the cord, laying the round white object and feathers flat against his chest.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing.

"It is a totem," he answered. "The moon and ocean spirits guide our people, but I am also guided by the spirit of the white bear. The medallion was a gift, to remind me of this. The feathers and bones are there to remind me of... my family, among other things."

"Why would you have a personal spirit guide?" Aang sat up, looking at him inquisitively. He was also curious about the mention of family, as Nanuk generally refused to speak about the people he had lived with before Pakku had taken him in, but the mention of spirits was a bit more prevalent, all things considered.

"Everyone has a personal spirit guide; I have simply learned to actively communicate with mine. Forgive me, it is difficult to explain," Nanuk told him apologetically. "You will learn of it in time, don't doubt."

The man shook his head as if to clear it, then beckoned the boy to follow him. Nanuk walked carefully around the small semicircular pool, and took a graceful seat beneath the elegantly simple arch at its reversed edge, a bit off center. He patted the ground beside himself, and Aang obligingly sat down next to him.

"This is my personal favorite place to meditate, when I wish to commune with my animal spirit guide. I know what I do is quite a bit different than trying to cross over entirely, but I imagine it is follows a similar concept, anyway."

Aang shrugged, "I guess. I haven't done it on purpose before, so I guess this could work. And this place is so... tranquil."

Nanuk nodded, saying, "There is a strong spiritual presence here. As the Avatar, you can naturally sense that more strongly than anyone else. There are pockets like this elsewhere in the world. You may not always consciously be aware of it, but you may find yourself drawn to them at times."

Considering the conversation ended, Nanuk turned to face forward, and began to meditate. His legs crossed and his limply open hands resting on his knees, the icebender stared blankly in the direction of the circling fish. His breathing almost immediately became long and deep as he entered a trance.

Aang glanced sidelong at him, again wondering how the man knew so much, then began his own meditation. The young airbender crossed his own legs and held the knuckles of his gently curled fists against each other, lining up the arrow tattoos he had received upon reaching Masterhood of his natural element. He closed his eyes, trying to empty his mind of all but the single focus on what he wished to achieve now.

* * *

The cavern was filled with the echoing sounds of barking turtle seals who were startled by Zuko's sudden emergence from the aquatic tunnel. He burst to the surface with an audible splash, followed by several desperate gasps for air. He lay on the icy ground, shivering for a few moments as he worked to warm himself with his breath of fire.

After a moment, he sat up and snapped at the animals to be QUIET. They silenced themselves for a moment out of surprise, but the barks returned to the air as he stomped past them, shoving a couple heads out of his way. Accepting that this strange human was no threat, a few followed him curiously as he headed deeper into the cavern.

The banished prince came across an artificial water outlet high up on the far cavern wall, and immediately jumped into the cascading stream. He climbed as quickly as his numbing fingers could carry him up and into the shoulder wide tunnel, heading for what he hoped to be the very core of the Northern Water Tribe.

* * *

"Is something wrong, Sokka?" Chief Arnook asked as he approached the young warrior. The southern boy was sitting on the floor in the armory, scraping a sharpening stone against the blade of his favorite weapon with more force than was strictly necessary.

"Oh, no," Sokka replied sourly. "Everything's fine. Han's out there on the top secret mission, while I'm stuck here, sharpening my boomerang. Everything's perfectly fine!" Sarcasm dripped from his voice like sap from a pine tree.

"Listen to me. I took you off the mission for selfish reasons. I have a special task in mind for you."

"What, you want me to scrub the barracks?" Sokka turned to the chief with an expression that was a combination of frustration, anger, and resignation.

"I want you... to guard my daughter." The southern warrior blinked at him in surprise. "I want you to do this with Nanuk. I am confident that either one of you could do it on your own but..." Arnook closed his eyes, unable or unwilling to say exactly what he wanted to.

"Um, sure," Sokka said, standing up. "That... shouldn't be too hard." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He was unsure if he should tell Yue's father that the princess would probably prefer Nanuk to do it alone, and why. On the other hand, he could spend time with her again, and she couldn't run off on him at the drop of a hat. Or at least, he would have a right to go chasing after her if she did.

Before Sokka could figure out exactly what to do or say, the chief turned around and strode out of the armory. His pace had the rhythm of controlled fear, worry, and foreboding, from a man who must always appear to be collected and leaderly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zuko had reached a large underground holding tank. The chamber was not completely full, and the young firebender took several deep breaths from the pocket of captured air before ducking his head back under the surface to look for an exit. Seeing what appeared to be an inlet, or at least a different tunnel than the one he had come through, he took one more breath and swam for it.

This tunnel was much wider, and was angled steadily upwards. He could swim much faster here, without shortening his strides to avoid hitting the sides of the tunnel. It was not long before Zuko caught sight of a light above him.

The window of light was made of a thick layer of smooth ice, frozen across an intersection of tunnels. Zuko banged on the ice experimentally a few times, but not a single crack formed. He was running out of time. In a last bid of quick thinking, he used his firebending to apply serious heat to the cap. With not a second to spare, he managed to melt through the ice and burst forth, gasping wildly as he did so.

Zuko pulled himself wearily up into the wide, dry tunnel. He could afford to lay down, catch his breath, and warm up. He needed to rest. Just for a few moments...

* * *

Katara and Yue had moved off behind and to the side of them. The waterbender had seen Aang in this position before, but the princess watched curiously. Nanuk had never come to this place with her before.

After a moment, Yue whispered, "Why are they sitting like that?"

"They're meditating. I'm not sure exactly what Nanuk is doing, but Aang is trying to cross over from our world into the Spirit World. It takes all his concentration."

"Oh... Is there anything we can do to help?"

Aang growled in frustration and spun around. "How about some _quiet!_" he shouted. "Come _on _guys, I can hear every word you're saying!"

"Sorry," came the response.

Aang waited a few more seconds, and, satisfied there would be no more interruptions, he turned back around again. He started to close his eyes, then stole a glance at Nanuk. The man was still staring at the koi fish, completely undisturbed by the whispered conversation, or Aang's loss of temper. The young Avatar curiously turned to watch the fish himself, wondering what could have thrown the icebender into such a deep trance so quickly.

As the two fish continued circling each other, something happened in Aang's third eye, as it had when meeting Nanuk's gaze earlier. A small, indescribable light began to shine from within the fish. The black fish always followed the tail of the white fish, and the white fish always followed the tail of the black one. An image, unidentifiable at first, began to form, slowly, slowly filling his vision... The black fish both led and followed the white fish, and the white fish both followed and led the black fish. Both pulling, both being pulled...

As the fish completely transformed into a Ying-Yang symbol in Aang's mind, he suddenly found himself... somewhere else. He was still beneath the arch, but the oasis and his friends were gone. He was in some sort of dark, mysterious swamp.

* * *

"What just happened?" the princess yelped, seeing the glow that had suddenly come over the boy, radiating from his eyes and tattoos.

"He's crossed over into the spirit world," Katara told her with relief. "He'll be fine so long as we don't move his body; that's his way back to the physical world."

"Maybe we should get some help!" Yue started to walk back toward the bridge closest to her.

"No, he's my friend," the waterbender answered. "I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

"Well, aren't you a big girl now?" Katara turned at the familiar voice.

"No!"

"Yes," the scarred firebender sneered from the other bridge. "Hand him over, and I won't have to hurt you!"

Katara immediately moved to protect Aang, and the princess decided that now was the perfect time to run for help.

Zuko sent a barrage of flames at the waterbender, throwing kicks and punches faster than he had been able to before. But Katara had also improved since their last meeting, and matched him strike for strike. She pulled water up from the miniature pond and the surrounding pool, blocking his blasts of with walls of water.

With an angry growl, she went on the offensive, throwing a large floating river at the young man. Zuko was knocked off his feet and landed with a hard thud on the grass.

"I see you've learned a new trick," he spat as he stood up again. "But I didn't come this far to lose to you!"

Katara blocked his next attack and threw him back with another blast of water.

Zuko managed to remain standing, but he stumbled backwards into the surrounding water as he tried to regain his balance.

Katara sent a line of icicles to freeze his feet in place, then began a complex, whirling maneuver as she pulled up the water around him, folding it over him and wrapping it into a tight spherical prison around the prince. As the water spun wildly, she froze it, locking Zuko within. She smirked, knowing he had underestimated her.

"You little peasant!" Zuko snarled from inside the sphere. "You've found a Master, haven't you!"

Suddenly, he created a great whirling ball of fire around himself, both shattering and melting his icy prison. The two threw themselves back into battle throwing, dodging, and blocking attacks.

Zuko managed to maneuver himself around Katara, just managing to touch the Avatar's collar before the waterbender knocked him away into the outer pool again. This time, she built up a massive wave from all the surrounding water, driving him upwards and freezing him in an improved version of the pillar she had used against Sanguk. Zuko was left almost completely surrounded in ice, leaving only his head and a few fingers free to move. He hung his head, eyes closed in either unconsciousness or defeat.

* * *

The first of dawn's light warmed Master Pakku's face, and chilled his spine. The tip of the sun was just peaking over the horizon, but that was all that was necessary to know the attack would begin anew, and very soon.

* * *

From their place on the balcony of the flagship, General Iroh and Admiral Zhao were met with a similar sensation, though for completely different reasons.

"Daybreak at last," Zhao stated hungrily. "Let's write history!" His cruel smile was the source of the shiver sent through Iroh, though the older man said nothing.

* * *

As the sun's rays passed over the palace and shined down on Zuko's scarred face, his head suddenly whipped up with a fury. He used a blast of heated breath to melt the ice directly holding him captive, then slid down the rest of the frozen slope, sending a massive blast of fire Katara.

Taken by surprise at the attack, she was unprepared to mount an effective defense, and was thrown back against the trunk of a nearby tree. As the dust cleared, Katara was revealed to be laying unconscious at the base of the tree, and Zuko was standing by the koi pond with his hand firmly grasping Aang's collar.

"You rise with the moon," he told her darkly. "But _I_ rise with the _sun_."

* * *

Two of the leading ships drove straight into the wall, jutting their sharp bows into the damaged areas of the wall. The bows then folded down, widening the great holes in the wall and forming ramps, from which firebenders and fire navy soldiers poured out like ant worms after a long rain. The ships then quickly backed out to make room for the ones behind them.

"The water tribe can try to resist the inevitable," Zhao said as he watched the battle unfold, "But their city will fall today."

* * *

Katara's eyes tightened for a moment in pain, then opened wide as she fully woke up and remembered where she was and what had happened. She shot up into a sitting position with a gasp. Zuko was gone, and her friend with him.

"AANG!" She shouted. How long had she been out? How far could they have gotten? How could she have let this happen?

Appa groaned as he landed on the only spot of the little island big enough to fit him. The sky bison then flopped down on his belly with a long moan, resting his chin on his two front paws.

"What happened?" Sokka asked as he jumped down from the bison's saddle, with Yue in tow. "Where's Zuko?"

"He took Aang," she told him mournfully. "He took him right out from under me."

"What about Nanuk?" her brother demanded, glaring at the sitting figure. "Didn't he help? Zuko couldn't have beaten you both!"

Katara shook her head. "Nanuk hasn't woken up yet. He wouldn't react to anything that was said or done around him. He's in some sort of trance, I think, and I don't know if or when he'll come out of it."

"Well, we'll just see, then." Sokka stomped over to the white haired man, and grabbed his shoulder, shaking it. The southern boy called his name, yelled at him to wake up, and told him Aang was gone, but there was absolutely no response. Sokka finally gave up and pushed the man away as he let go. Nanuk fell into an undignified heap on the ground, and still he didn't even blink.

"Some help you are," the warrior said with disgust. The three of them gazed into the pond unseeingly. "Where did they go?"

By the time Yue remembered a path that lead out of the basin and onto the surface of the ice cap a many minutes later, Nanuk had wakened from his stupor and been informed of Zuko's treachery.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zuko was struggling to carry the Avatar's dead weight over the glacier, against the wind that was bringing signs of an oncoming storm. The warmth of the oasis was far behind him.


	3. Siege of the North, Part 2

"I can't believe I _lost_ him!" Katara moaned as she fell into a sitting position by the koi pool. The fish continued circling, blissfully unaware of the despair of the four people and the chaos of the battle taking place only yards away.

"You did everything you could," Sokka reassured her. He made no move to comfort the icebender, who was leaning against one of the arch posts. "And now, we need to do everything we can to get him back. Zuko can't have gotten far. We'll find him."

"He is right," Nanuk piped up. "You have absolutely no reason to blame yourself, and even if you did, sitting here bemoaning it won't do anything productive."

Katara sighed. "Okay."

"He'll be fine," the man said as he reached down to help her up. She ignored the gesture and stood up on her own. The four of them climbed up onto Appa, with Sokka taking the reins. Momo continued to stare desolately at the place Aang had been, quietly trilling for him.

"It's okay," the waterbender told the upset lemur. "You stay here Momo, in case Aang comes back." With that, Sokka gave the command for the bison to take off.

They flew up and out of the basin, and over the untamed tundra above. The wind was much stronger up here, with no walls or cliffs to block or dampen its force. Everyone drew up their hoods as they drove straight into the snow and hail that was being blown toward them.

* * *

Zuko's trail was rather easily spotted as a small trench where the waist-deep snow had been pushed aside, but the storm was picking up and the trail was being covered again quickly.

At the end of that trail, the banished prince continued trudging along with Aang draped limply across his back. The Avatar still had not wakened, his tattoos glowing steadily as ever.

* * *

Aang turned around, trying to get his bearings. Behind him, there was a small stand of bamboo, though much less well groomed than the one at the oasis. The arch was still over him, and the pond was gone; instead, he was sitting on a small island in the middle of a strange marsh. A huge, white bear was sitting beside him, silently staring into the foggy sky.

Aang was momentarily startled to find himself so close to such a large carnivorous animal, but the bear paid him no mind. Some part of the boy realized that this must be Nanuk's so-called spirit guide, and that as a friend of the icebender, and not to mention being the Avatar himself, it might give him some guidance as well.

"Um, excuse me?" he asked meekly. The bear continued ignoring him. He tried again, more loudly: "_Excuse me?_"

This time, the hulking animal responded. The large pointed head slowly turned, and in a moment, it was staring down at him. Other than that, it didn't move a muscle. It still didn't make a sound.

"Um, could you tell me where I can find the Ocean and Moon Spirits? I really need their help." It continued to watch him silently.

"Can... you even speak?" Aang asked nervously. He wasn't sure if the creature was simply contemplating whether or not he would make a good lunch. "Or are you about to try and eat me?"

He was surprised when the head was suddenly thrown back and a deep, guttural laugh filled the air.

"No, child, I am NOT going to eat you!" The rumbling voice shook with mirth. "What on earth would give you such an idea?"

Aang blushed. "I... Well, you're a bear. I mean, I've seen a platypus bear and an armadillo bear, and they both were ready to attack me on sight."

The great white animal scoffed. "Bears are nurturing and protective by nature. We don't attack unless we are provoked, or we think someone or something we are protecting is in danger. Your bear-like animals probably thought you were a threat, and were trying to eliminate that threat. Humans' abilities to bend the elements or wield weapons in your defense make it so the effort to attain such a meal is hardly worth the meal itself, even to a starving bear." The bear shook its head, and added, "Besides, humans taste terrible."

Aang took a moment to wonder how the bear knew what humans tasted like if he had never eaten one, then politely apologized for making assumptions. "So... could you tell me where to find the Ocean and Moon Spirits?"

The bear shook its head. "I must apologize, but I cannot tell you this. Those two are ancient, and they have not been seen in the spirit world since long before I was born. You need to ask someone much older than myself."

"Not in the spirit world?" Aang repeated with surprise. "What do you mean?"

Again, the bear shook its head. "Ask another." With that, it returned to staring blankly into the sky. Aang briefly considered getting its attention again, but decided against it.

"Thanks anyway," he said in case the spirit was still listening. Then he walked off the platform and into the swamp.

A short distance away, his attention was taken by a low, long sound. "Ooooooohmmmmmm... Ooooooohmmmmmm..."

The voice came from another small island. This one was more rocky, and jutted out at an odd angle, much taller than the flat base he had come through on. Three rectangular boulders were stacked atop the island, or perhaps they were naturally a part of the stone that made the island. A small gnarled tree stood on the horizontal stone beam, its mangled roots and vines reaching down the pillars to the marsh water below.

Beneath this strange natural arch sat a white monkey or ape of some sort. It wore a brown cloth across its shoulders that draped down over one side of its body, and a necklace of shells and strange triangular stones. It sat cross-legged, its hands in a meditative position, and it chanted a simple mantra.

Aang ran up the mound to stand in front of the spirit. "Hello?" The monkey stopped its chant, but did not open its eyes. Remembering his encounter with the bear, the boy continued speaking, despite the lack of verbal response.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I just _really_ need to find the Moon and the Ocean Spirits!"

The monkey spirit still didn't open its eyes, saying only, "Go. Away." After a moment, it opened one eye. "You're still here," it observed with annoyance.

"_Yes!_ I just need -"

"OOOOOOOHMMMMMM!" The monkey made it clear that it resolved to ignore him.

Aang opened his mouth to try one last time, but the monkey suddenly pointed at a bizarre floating orb of light as it passed by. "Perhaps that thing will help you. Chase it!"

Aang, realizing he wouldn't get anywhere continuing with the monkey, followed its advice, and ran after the orb as it darted to and fro and off deeper into the swamp. The monkey opened one eye to make sure the boy was gone, then shook its head and sighed. "Finally."

Aang chased the orb across the shallow water and muck, then up a tree. He jumped from a very thick branch and managed to catch the ball of light, but the branch withered immediately after he landed back on it, sending him falling to the wet ground with a splash, and causing him to lose his catch.

"Hey! Come back!" he called to it, but it continued on its way as if he weren't there at all. Perhaps it wasn't even sentient; the monkey spirit had probably just used it as a diversion.

The airbender hung his head in frustration, and noticed his reflection in the rippling water at his ankles. It writhed, darkened, and tore into unrecognizable pieces, then reformed into an image of a tall bearded man in dark red robes: his most recent predecessor.

"Hello, Aang."

"Roku!"

* * *

The wind was blowing fiercely now, and Zuko was having a difficult time seeing what was ahead of him. He had to walk slowly, more carefully than before. A focused step was rewarded with a warning crack, just before he put all his weight on the one foot. But it was too late to step back again; Zuko had just enough time to throw himself into a run before the ground beneath him began to shatter.

The trail behind him dissolved into a mass of waving, flying, falling chunks of ice. Each step he took broke the surface more, but also sent him further forward, whereas standing still would surely cause him to sink and die.

Just when he thought the web of cracks would overcome him, he took a blind leap and found himself on solid ground. Zuko went sprawling across the snow, and the Avatar was flung away from his captor. The firebender sat up and gazed at the crater behind him, then turned to look ahead.

He spied a mound of earth poking through the snow, with what appeared to be a dark, empty space beneath it. A cave?

"Shelter!" Zuko moaned with a shiver. He grabbed the Avatar by his collar again, and dragged him into the hollow space.

Throwing the boy on the floor against the far wall of the crevice, the banished prince removed the coil of rope from his shoulder. He pulled his prisoner's hands behind his back and tied them together, then moved to secure his feet as well. Once that was done, he additionally pinned the airbender's arms to his chest and tied together his legs to boot. The Avatar would NOT escape him again!

* * *

"Roku, the Northern Water Tribe is under attack! I _need_ to find the Ocean and the Moon Spirits and -"

The water suddenly coiled and grew upwards, and the image of Roku became Roku, himself. "The Ocean and the Moon are ancient spirits," the old Avatar said.

"I know," Aang replied. "Nanuk's bear guide said they haven't been seen in the Spirit World in a long time, and that I need to ask someone older where to find them."

Roku nodded sagely. "They gave up their immortality, and crossed over from the Spirit World into the Mortal World, very near the beginning. The only spirit I know of who is old enough to remember..." The old man paused, unsure.

"Who?" Aang prompted impatiently. He had been gone awhile, and he had no idea if the city had already been breached or destroyed, yet.

"The spirit's name is Koh. But he is _very _dangerous! They call him... the Face Stealer." Aang's eyes and mouth opened wider in horror at the ideas of how much this title could imply. "If you speak with him, you must be very careful," Roku warned. "Show no emotion at all. Not the _slightest_ expression, or he will steal your face!"

The young airbender grimaced in fear, but quickly schooled his features into one of controlled disinterest, like he had seen Princess Yue and Nanuk do. Better to get the practice in now, when an error wouldn't cost him so dearly. He nodded.

Roku was clearly uncomfortable with the idea, but he told his young successor where to find the ancient spirit.

* * *

Appa landed in the snow, and Sokka dropped to the ground beside him. The trail had been buried a while back, but while it had wavered a bit, it had stuck to a general direction. The group had been flying in that direction for almost an hour now, but had seen nothing. Now the route that would have to have been taken by land ended, blocked by a massive pit of broken ice and uptorn earth.

Sokka looked downward. The floor and walls of the crevice were coated with snow, but not enough that it could have been there before the storm had hit. If someone had been in the area when the shifting happened...

He turned back to face the others, and what Katara read on his face only increased her anxiety and sadness.

* * *

Zuko rubbed his hands together, brought them up to his mouth to warm with a breath of fire, then repeated the motions. He turned to the still unconscious Avatar.

"I finally found you," he commented darkly. "But I can't get you home because of this _blizzard._" He stood up and gazed out the cave opening.

"There's always _something_. Not that _you_ would understand. You're like my _sister_. Everything always... came easy to her. She's a firebending _prodigy_, and everyone _adores_ her!" The banished prince scowled at the falling snow, as if even the weather was somehow a personal insult. "My father says she was _born _lucky. He says _I _was lucky to be _born_."

The boy didn't respond, still in that trance. Zuko closed his eyes ruefully, then continued. "I don't need luck, though. I don't _want_ it. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong! It's... made me who I am."

* * *

Fire balls rained from the sky in groups of three to five, crashing down upon the heart of the city with loud, thundering booms. Warriors and waterbenders of the tribe ran out to face off with the invading soldiers and firebenders, shouting wild battle cries as they did so. The fighting force of twenty ships had already made their way past the wall and into the outskirts of the city, including a number of the Mechanist's War Machines. A few komodo rhino riders charged into the fray, firing miniature fire balls from side-mounted catapults.

The waterbenders on the top of the inner wall held back the flow of pipes that under normal circumstances would have let out as waterfalls. They then used the built up pressure to increase the power behind their own bending force, using the outlets as massive water cannons. Several small and medium war machines were destroyed before the wall was brought down by huge chained hooks fired from extra-large war machines.

* * *

"I don't need to remind you," Iroh stated, "That we have a time limit. If we don't defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises, they will be undefeatable!"

Admiral Zhao spared only a smug glance at his General. "I assure you, I have everything under control. I intend to remove the moon as a factor."

The older man's eyes widened, but other than a slight raise in the pitch of his voice, he gave away nothing of his feelings. "Remove the moon? How?!"

"Admiral Choi!" came a shout from behind them. A soldier with ridiculously large shoulder spikes threw off his helmet, revealing a cocky young Water Tribe warrior. "Prepare to meet your fate!"

The fool boy charged with a spear at Zhao, who simply side-stepped and used Han's own momentum to send him plunging off the balcony. Iroh leaned forward to watch the "infiltrator" careen into the water, shaking his head in exasperation at the display.

"As I was saying," the middle aged man continued as if they had not been interrupted, "Years ago, I stumbled upon a great and powerful secret. The identity of the moon spirit's mortal form."

Iroh stared in blatant horror at the implications of this knowledge. "_What?!_"

"I was a young lieutenant serving under General Shiu in the Earth Kingdom. I discovered a hidden library, underground, in fact. I tore through scroll after scroll. One of them contained a detailed illustration, and the words, 'moon' and 'ocean'. I knew then that these spirits could be found. And _killed!_" Zhao stared out at the battle raging before him, the fruit of years' worth of planning. "And that it was my destiny to do so," he added.

"Zhao! The spirits are not to be trifled with!" Iroh exclaimed, not bothering to hide his outrage at this news.

The Admiral only smirked, and waved him away carelessly. "Yes, yes. I know you fear the spirits, Iroh. I've heard rumors about your journey into the Spirit World. But the Ocean and Moon Spirits gave up their immortality to become a part of _our_ world! And now, they will face the consequences!"

* * *

Aang used his airbending to aid himself as he jumped from one stone pillar to another, following the line of outcroppings to a massive, ancient and gnarled tree. The spirit of an enormous fox wolf, at least as tall as the tree, strode past, ignoring the tiny human.

The young Avatar climbed over the huge roots, approaching a comparatively small cave at the trunk's base. He was having difficulty hiding his fearful expression as he began to walk downward. The chittering of a monkey startled him, but he quickly relaxed, realizing he had psyched himself out.

"Oh," Aang said with a smile of relief. "You're just a curly tailed blue nose!"

The animal turned to look at the speaker, who jumped back at the sight of the missing facial features. Aang took a deep, calming breath. Knowing that now was the time it was going to count, he schooled his own face into an emotionless voice echoed along with Aang's as he recalled the old man's advice: "Show no fear. Show no emotion at all." He entered the deep darkness.

The rough dirt path soon became a hewn stone staircase, leading ever downward. This made it easier to navigate in the darkness while his eyes were still adjusting. As he reached the bottom step, he called out.

"Hello? I'm looking for a spirit named Koh." Receiving no response, he continued farther into the chamber. A few spires of light broke through the dirt ceiling, but it was still uncomfortably dark.

Aang sensed something at the wall behind himself, but when he turned to look, nothing was there. Then again, in the opposite direction. Was he psyching himself out again, or was there someone... or something, watching him from the shadows?

The sound came again, this time from directly behind him, only a few feet away. Before he could turn to see, a face suddenly appeared in front of him. The face was painted white, except for two large grey ovals around the eyes, and bright red lips. It was attached to the body of the largest centipede Aang had ever seen; what he could see of it was four feet across, and the end continued far beyond where the light ended completely.

"Welcome!" Koh's deep, thundering voice echoed through the cavern. Aang made absolutely no reaction to this sudden appearance, the shape, or sound of his host.

"Thank you," he said blandly, with a respectful bow. The spirit's many legs wiggled with some form of excitement, littering the air with crinkly sounds.

"My old friend, the Avatar," it said. Koh moved to look at Aang from behind, then whispered loudly in his ear, "It's been a _long_ time."

"You know me?" Aang asked. Koh slinked around the ceiling for a moment.

"How could I forget _you_?" It asked sourly, switching its face to another, this time a wrinkled man with thick eyebrows and a long, sharp black mustache. "One of your previous incarnations tried to SLAY me! Maybe five or six hundred years ago!" The new face was suddenly shoved right up in front of Aang's. The young airbender again made no reaction.

"I... didn't know that," he told the spirit truthfully. "Why did he... or I, try to kill you?"

Koh changed faces again. It was a beautiful woman from the Water Tribe, with long dark brown hair. "Oh, it was something about... stealing the face of someone you loved." Aang stared blankly at the face, trying to recall... She was familiar, but he didn't know...

Then the face changed to that of the curly tailed blue nose, with long fangs and a brightly colored snout, as the spirit laughed cruelly. Koh slunk back and around the young Avatar, viewing him from this way and that. "Of course, that's all behind us..." it said with a tone of insincere soothing. "Why should I hold a grudge against _you_, for something in a _past_ life?"

Koh wrapped its massive insectile body around Aang, who refused to shiver at the contact. He still maintained a complete lack of expression.

"After all," the spirit continued, "You're a _different _person now..." It moved very close to whisper in the boy's ear. "You've come to me... with a _new_ face."

Aang closed his eyes, but kept his emotions under control.

* * *

Back in the physical world, Zuko glanced at the Avatar, who had suddenly drawn in a deep breath. But the boy exhaled, and remained unconscious. The firebender turned to look out the opening again, watching as the storm grew steadily worse.

"Guess we're going to be here awhile."

* * *

"Don't worry!" Yue tried to comfort her friends. "Zuko can't be getting far in THIS weather!"

Nanuk put a hand on Katara's shoulder, but she just turned away from them both. "I'm not worried that they'll get away in the blizzard. I'm worried that they _won't!_"

"They're not going to die in this blizzard!" Sokka looked back to reassure his sister. "If we know anything, it's that Zuko _never_ gives up! They'll _survive_, and we WILL find them!"

* * *

Koh had adopted an owl's face next. "It's been a long time since I've added a _child's_ face to my collection," it commented as it circled its visitor. "So, how may I help you?"

"I need to find the Moon and the Ocean," Aang answered.

"Their spirit names are Tui, and La. Push, and Pull. And _that_ has been the nature of their relationship for all time," Koh told him.

"Please. Help me find them. An entire culture could be destroyed if I don't get their help."

The spirit took on an old man's face, tired and sagging, from his skin to his overly-long white eyebrows. "Oh, you think you need _their_ help? Actually, it's _quite_ the other way around."

A twisted blue face with red eyes and big teeth was suddenly in front of Aang's. It screamed, "Someone is going to KILL them!" Aang managed to keep his face in check, and Koh abandoned the Blue Spirit's face for the first one.

"What do you mean? How can I find them and protect them?"

"You've already met them, actually," it told the airbender silkily. It backed away, making itself taller. "Tui and La, your Moon and Ocean, have always circled each other in an eternal dance." Koh turned away, holding its legs out to the beams of sunlight coming down over it. "They balance each other. Push, and Pull. Life, and Death. Good, and Evil. Ying, and Yang."

This last bit threw Aang into a memory, and filled him with realization. The vision that had carried him over was a Ying-Yang symbol, played out right in front of him in the oasis pool.

"The koi fish!" he exclaimed with a wild grin. Koh spun around, wearing the Blue Spirit face again, but the young Avatar had already changed his own face, back to one of emotionlessness. "I must, be going now."

Koh changed faces once more, to a young Fire Nation soldier, then replied blandly, "We'll meet again." It backed slowly into the darkness, and was gone.

Aang turned around and strode back up the long staircase again. He finished the last leg of the climb at a run, abandoning his bland mask. "The spirits are in trouble!" he quickly told the reflection of Roku. "I need to get back to the physical world!"

"A friend is here, to guide you back." Roku disappeared, to be replaced by the reflection of a large black and white bear. Aang turned around to face the animal spirit.

"Hei Bai!" he greeted happily. The spirit grumbled its own friendly greeting, then bent down for the airbender to get on its back. He did, and they were off, at a long, sloping run.

* * *

Night had fallen, and the battle was quickly turning in the waterbenders' favor. The few remaining war machines were causing havoc, driving straight through totem poles and statues and longhouse walls on their way deeper into the city. A new load of firebenders and komodo rhino troops landed, but the full moon was now completely over the horizon, so they were mostly coming to fill in the holes in rank rather than to increase the invasion force.

The warriors and benders of the Water Tribe took a moment to soak in the extra strength granted them by their great spirits, then continued the battle with renewed energy.

A squad of Fire Nation soldiers with spears charged across a bridge toward one of the waterbenders, who quickly retracted the snow that formed the raised path, dropping his attackers into the canal below, then froze them in place.

Another dropped down from a ledge and created a sinkhole directly beneath a small war machine, blocked a fire blast sent from within the trapped machine, then sent a fist-sized ball of hail at it, knocking off a large piece of metal and denting the firebender's attack window.

Several waterbenders sent spears of ice at enemy soldiers, who knelt behind tall shields, unable to get close enough to attack with their own weapons.

Pakku was taking on a larger crowd than most of the others, but was fairly easily holding his own. He created eight miniature sinkholes for a line of individual Fire Navy soldiers, then turned and impaled a war machine with a spire of ice he drew from the ground. He sent wave at another, completely removing one of its tread systems and effectively immobilizing it. Recognizing the old man as a particularly powerful bender, several more war machines and a number of standing firebenders immediately surrounded him.

The waterbending master repeated the slicing maneuver on two more machines, blocking and dodging a few attacks as he did so. When it became apparent that the horde of enemies was converging on him and getting too close for his liking, Pakku spun quickly, creating a shield of water around himself. As he continued spinning, a massive tornado of water formed beneath him, lifting him out of reach of the ground bound enemy. The pillar writhed about wildly as he avoided more attacks from the firebenders, then suddenly turned into a massive flat disk, returning Pakku to the ground and wiping out everyone around him.

Three other waterbenders worked together to create a joint wave beneath an extra large war machine, sending it flying. The huge metal vehicle landed more than fifty feet away, throwing snow and water everywhere.

A new group of komodo rhino riders got hit by the slushy backsplash. Zhao avoided being soaked by throwing up a wall of flame, but the firebender mounted to his right had to melt the snow drift he was buried under and subsequently steam himself dry.

The ambitious Admiral took a moment to flick a small bit of snow off his shoulder, then held up a withered yellow scroll, drawing the attention of the other members of his search party. "We're going to be following this map to a very _special_ location," he announced. "And when we get there, _we're going fishing!_"

* * *

Hei Bai carried Aang back to a familiar grassy platform, backed by a bamboo forest and marked by an elegant wooden arch. Aang climbed down from the panda spirit's back, assuming a cross-legged sitting position roughly where he had come in. Nanuk's polar bear spirit guide was gone, but his physical body would still be a bit off center.

"So... This is where I came in," Aang said, "but how am I supposed to get back?"

The black and white forest guardian stood pack on its hind legs, then breathed a ray of bright blue light directly at the boy. The light built up around him in a growing sphere, absorbing him. Or perhaps... he absorbed it. Then the sphere condensed to a fine point of light, and the young Avatar was gone.

The monkey spirit opened one eye, closed it again, and said with cynical relief, "Good riddance!"

Hei Bai took on his more menacing reptilian form, and used a much broader version of the blue light accompanied with a piercing shriek to blast the rude spirit off his rocky perch. Then he reverted back to his bear form, and wandered off amiably.

* * *

A speck of light by the spirit oasis expanded to a rather large sphere, increasing in brightness for a moment, then quickly fading back into nothing, leaving behind only a young boy who shined with the same light.

Aang saw his pet lemur sleeping on the small outcropping at the edge of the little pond. "Momo!" he cried out happily. When the little creature didn't wake up, he knelt down and repeated, "Momo?"

The airbender moved to stroke his pet, and noticed the light coming from his hands. Remembering the last time his friends couldn't see or hear him, he quickly realized what the problem was. He hadn't made it all the way back to the physical world.

"Oh, _no!_ Where's my body?" He took a moment to survey his surroundings, but soon found himself drawn up and out of the basin, flying over the untamed glacier. As when he was woken from the Avatar State and rescued from the iceberg, the brightness of his spirit could be seen even by the least spiritually tune eyes.

Katar caught sight of the beam streaking through the sky, and pointed. "Look!" she exclaimed. "That's gotta be Aang!" She gave the command for Appa to speed up, and Sokka steered the bison after the beacon.

Aang's spirit zoomed downward through a slab of stone and ice, melding as quickly as possible into his body. The boy gasped as he woke up, finding himself tied up and Prince Zuko standing over him. He struggled against the bond for a moment, then sat up to face the scarred firebender.

"Welcome back," his captor said darkly.

"Good to _be_ back," Aang responded angrily, then took a deep breath and let loose a blast of air that knocked Zuko against the back wall and simultaneously shot himself out of the cave.

He turned and wriggled about, trying to scoot as far away as possible, but the banished prince quickly ran out and grabbed him by the collar. "That won't be enough to escape!"

Aang's gaze met Zuko's then traveled farther upward, catching sight of something approaching. "Appa!"

The sky bison landed with an angry moan, and Katara flung herself off out of the saddle and onto the ground. Zuko scowled at her, dropping his prisoner and assuming a fighting stance.

"Here for a rematch?"

"Trust me, Zuko," she replied with a calm fury, ""It's _not_ going to be much of a match!" With that, she easily blocked his first fire blast, then rose the ice beneath him straight up almost forty feet before slamming him down again. The prince was immediately knocked unconscious, and Sokka and Nanuk quickly moved to untie their young friend.

"Hey," Sokka said with a grin as he cut the bond away from the airbender's chest and hands. "This is some quality rope!"

Nanuk rolled his eyes, and when the southern warrior moved to work on the ties at Aang's feet, the icebender grabbed the first bundle and moved over to Zuko.

"We _need _to get to the oasis!" the young Avatar said quickly. "The spirits are in trouble!" He leapt onto Appa's head, and the southern siblings moved to join him on the sky bison. Noticing that someone was missing, Appa's riders turned back to look at Nanuk, who was kneeling over Zuko's limp body.

"What are you doing?" Sokka called to thee older man.

"What's it look like?" came the reply. None of the four could guess, as his back was to them.

Aang stared at the flat form of the banished prince, and the back of his oldest living friend, who might have been tying up the defenseless firebender, or trying to revive him, or even trying to kill him.

"We can't just leave him here." Aang jumped to hear his own voice doubled, as an echo of this thought came simultaneously from Nanuk.

"What?" Sokka said with surprise. "Sure, we can! Let's go!"

"No!" Aang told the older boy. "If we leave him, he'll die!" The airbender quickly jumped back down to help the northern man carry the newly tied firebender to Appa. Nanuk created a platform of ice, placed Zuko on it, and raised it upward. Aang jumped with aid from his bending, to pull the prince's dead weight onto the saddle.

"Yeah, this makes a lot of sense," Sokka interjected sarcastically, without bothering to lend any help himself. "Let's _bring _the guy who's constantly trying to kill us!"

"Capture, not kill," Nanuk corrected him with a grunt. "Katara, Aang, and I were all incapacitated at the oasis. If he wanted us dead, he could have made it so then and there, and been done with it. Yet we're all still breathing."

With Zuko safely on board, Nanuk dropped the platform and climbed up himself, adding, "If you were to kill a defenseless man, especially one who spared your life - or the life of someone close to you - then you would be worse than he is, and as much a monster as that man, Zhao. Call it seeing the value of life, or a simple matter of honor. Take your pick, but either way, actively leaving someone to die when you have a chance to save them is just plain wrong."

Sokka stared at the icebender at this, and failing to come up with a reasonable argument, decided to end the conversation entirely. Aang glided to Appa's head, grabbed the reins, and then they were off.

* * *

The two koi fish continued circling, tracing the outline of the reflection of the full moon hanging directly overhead. Suddenly, a hand reached in and snatched the white fish out of the water, stuffing it into a thick leather bag.

As Zhao held his wriggling prize up proudly, as blood red shadows washed across the moon's face. The sky darkened with an unnatural eclipse, and the waterbenders became powerless.

Pakku's whirling pillar suddenly collapsed, dropping him to the ground with a long and loud splash. Another bender stared at his hands in disbelief as his water whip fell to the ground. A wave that was being utilized by a group of waterbenders to subdue a komodo rhino sank back into the canal, leaving the rhino free to chase the now-fleeing tribesmen.

The Fire Nation soldiers went on the offensive, filled with renewed vigor and morale. firebenders attacked as units in formation, driving the city's defenders back.

* * *

Meanwhile, Princess Yue hissed and grabbed her head with her hands, her eyes squeezed shut with pain.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked her quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. His worry covered his face.

"I feel... faint," she answered him.

"I feel it too," Aang added, clutching his own head with one hand, leaving the other on the reins. He opened his eyes and look up at the red moon anxiously. "The moon spirit is in trouble!"

Nanuk held two fingers to his temple and grimaced a bit, but said nothing. His gaze was on the princess, who looked more than just faint or pained. Yue stared dazedly at her lap.

"I owe the moon spirit my life," she told the group. Only Nanuk showed no sign of surprise or confusion at this declaration.

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked, leaning forward.

"When I was born, I was very sick and _very_ weak. Most babies cry when they are born, but I was born as if asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could, but I wasn't hurt in a way they could heal. They told my mother and father I was going to die.

"My father pleaded with the spirits to save me. That night, beneath the full moon, they brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white. I opened my eyes and began to cry. And they knew I would live."

"That's why your mother named you Yue," Nanuk said softly. "For the moon."

She turned to him, looking into his face, trying to see something... "My father once said you were there, that night. That the spirits sent you to protect me. He said you fell from the sky, with hair as white as mine." There was a question somewhere, something she couldn't bring herself to ask.

The three foreigners watched on, amazed at the story and unsure what to think or say. The icebender sighed.

"Yes, I was there," he said solemnly. "And while I wasn't conscious for most of it, the description of falling out of the sky makes sense. I cannot explain how I got to the North Pole, but I was not surprised by it. I have always had a strong connection to the spirits, and I have traveled in such a way before. But no, I was not sent specifically to protect you. I was sent to find someone else, but I did recognize you had a connection to the spirits that was stronger than anyone I had ever met before. I protected you because it was my choice, not because it was my job or my destiny.

"I know you felt abandoned, when I left," he told her. "And I apologize for that, but I felt it was important, and I... cannot ignore my feelings. The last time I did, people died. I have many regrets, but being your friend and protector will never be one of them. In time, I hope you will forgive me for the hurt I caused you. I never meant it."

"I know that," the princess said quietly. "But you were gone... so _long!_" She fought the tears, but Nanuk pulled her to his chest and held her while she sobbed gently.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

* * *

The black koi swam a random path around the pond, looking for its partner and unable to direct itself alone.

"I am... a _legend_!" Admiral Zhao exclaimed quietly, holding the leather pouch above his head in triumph. "Now, the Fire Nation will for generations tell stories about the Great Zhao, who darkened the moon!" he continued, his voice growing louder and his expression growing more crazed. "They will call me Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon Slayer, Zhao... the INVINCIBLE!"

His moment of revelling in glory was ruined by the little monkey creature that suddenly jumped on his head, scratching at his face and chattering angrily.

"Aargh! Get it off! Get it off!" His accompanying soldiers dodged his flailing arms as the lemur pulled at his sideburns and poked him in the eyes. After a few more seconds, Momo leapt off and glided way, landing on the Avatar's outstretched arm.

Aang and his friends had had quickly jumped off the flying bison, and were taking fighting stances. Sokka whipped out his boomerang, the airbender brandished his staff, and the girl waterbender opened her flask. There was also a northern man at least twice their age, who assumed a strange but threatening stance himself, baring his teeth and curling his fingers into a claw-like shape.

"Don't bother!" The arrogant firebender announced. He held up the thrashing bag, curling his free hand into a fist, ready to blast the captive spirit into oblivion.

Aang's eyes widened in surprise and fear. "Zhao!" he called, dropping his staff. He held up his empty hands in half-surrender. The others in his group grudgingly followed his example. "Don't!"

"It's my destiny to destroy the moon," the Admiral said stonily, "and the Water Tribe."

"Destroying the moon won't hurt _just_ the Water Tribe," Aang told him carefully. "It will hurt everyone, including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have _no idea_ what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world!"

"He is _right_, Zhao!" A new voice interrupted. Everyone turned in surprise to the old man who had appeared on one of the island bridges.

"General Iroh," Zhao nearly spat the name out. "Why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?"

"I am no traitor, Zhao!" Iroh told the younger man fervently, as he removed the hood of his cloak. "The Fire Nation needs the moon, too! We all depend on the balance!"

The Fire Lord's portly older brother pointed furiously at the wriggling bag. "Whatever you do to that spirit, I will unleash on you _tenfold!_" he exclaimed, assuming his own fighting stance. "Let it go, NOW!"

Zhao glared at him for a moment, but finally sighed in defeat. He bent down, opening the pouch and releasing the fish back into the pond. The red shadow faded from the circle in the sky, and the white koi joined the black and the two moved to continue their eternal dance.

Suddenly, Zhao's face was transformed, his features twisted by rage and hate. He roared wildly as he threw a blazing line of heat and light across the water's surface. Everyone else was horrified by this action, and their fear and dismay was only worsened when the light of the moon darkened completely overhead.

Everyone, water tribe or fire nation, soldier or civilian, bender or not, stared upward as the moon itself disappeared from the night sky.

The silence was broken by a series of growls and fire blasts as Iroh bore down on Zhao. The Admiral redirected what he could, backing up between his small company of firebenders. Iroh chased after him, but was quickly surrounded. He blocked the fire they simultaneously shot at him, and went on the offensive. Seeing the fury and power of the old Master, Admiral Zhao turned and fled.

The old man quickly took out his attackers, but by the time he finished, Zhao had disappeared. The black fish was circling the white one, but the moon spirit simply hung in the water lifelessly. The Avatar, his friends, and his unexpected defender gathered around anxiously, hoping against hope that there was something that could be done.

No one noticed the empty pile of loosened rope left on Appa's saddle, or the white clad escapee who was running through the porthole after Zhao.

Iroh knelt by the pond, gently lifting the limp and badly burned fish out of the water. There was no denying it was dead.

"There's no hope now," Princess Yue said quietly. Sokka was surprised when she chose his shoulder, rather than Nanuk's, to lean on in her despair, but didn't argue. "It's over!"

Suddenly, the area was lit up by Aang's tattoos as he entered the Avatar State. The anger and determination in his eyes could be seen even through the bright light.

"No," his voice echoed with the voices of every Avatar before him as he spoke. "It's _not_ over!"

Katara moved to put a hand on him arm, but Iroh motioned for her to stay put. The young Avatar strode firmly into the pond, standing directly in the middle. The black fish that was the Ocean felt the strength of the boy's spirit began circling him.

As the group watched breathlessly, the fish's eyes and the white spot on its head began to glow as well. And then Aang collapsed into the water, consumed by it. The pond glowed as brightly as the spirits, and the light spread, filling first the small lake around the island oasis, then the waterfalls in the palace courtyard, then the small canals in the heart of the city, and finally the huge canals that connected the outskirts of the city to the sea, just beyond the great wall.

The water began to gather, forming a wave that that grew in height, until it was as wide as the palace itself, and a good half size taller. It took on the shape of a great walking fish, the Avatar at its heart.

As the mass continued growing, Aang lifted his hands, and the form around him did also. Then the being moved around the palace, taking long strides down the widest canal of the city.

As it passed crossing canals and streets, it looked down on warriors and benders who had ceased battling in their awe. The warriors and benders of the water tribe immediately touched their foreheads to the ground in reverence, but the Fire Nation's soldiers lifted their weapons to it threateningly.

Aang moved his own arms as the waterbenders from his past lives controlled him, and the spirit raised more waves and washed the intruders all the way out of the city and out to sea.

A few komodo rhino riders and war machines launched fire balls at the massive spiritual being, but the weapons were completely ineffective against the huge mass of standing water. The attackers were washed away in their own turn.

As the Ocean spirit left the heart of the city, and saw the remaining invaders fleeing back to their ships, it released its fish monster form, flowing quickly down the main canal to the outer wall.

* * *

Completely ignoring the winding paths and canals that lead throughout the city like a giant frozen web, Zhao took the most direct route he could find. He dropped off the wall of one sublevel, ran across a roof, jumped to the ground, and then ran for the edge of the next sublevel. He was traveling in the general direction of great wall and his ship.

The Admiral was a few yards from his next drop off when a blast of fire suddenly whips around him from behind, destroying a short pillar in front of him. He shielded himself from the smoke and icy shrapnel, then turned around to face his attacker. There was no way Iroh could have -

But no, it was Zuko who glared down at him from the high inner wall, his ponytail waving in the breeze, and his fists shaking from bottled rage more than from the cold.

"You're alive?!" Zhao gasped. But the pirates -! And Iroh had said -!

"You tried to have me killed!" the banished prince snapped, breaking the stand-still and launching two burning punches at his enemy in quick succession.

Zhao managed to roll out of the way, landing on his feet and rising to his own fighting stance.

"Yes, I did," he admitted darkly. "You're the Blue Spirit! An enemy of the Fire Nation!" Zuko passed through the cloud of smoke and snow where the Admiral had been standing, clearly in control here.

"You freed the Avatar!" Zhao added.

"I had no choice!" Zuko kicked out a mass of fire, following the attack with three more from his hands.

Zhao set his feet and withstood the series of blasts, redirecting the flames to either side of himself. Uninjured, the older man removed his smoking cloak and tossed it aside.

"You should have accepted your failure, your disgrace. _Then_, at least, you could have LIVED!" Zhao gave a shout as he went on the offensive, throwing his own blasts.

Zuko dodged the first two by spinning sideways, but as Zhao rushed forward wo swipe it him from underneath, the prince jumped up to avoid being hit or tripped, landing behind Zhao on the other side of the wall.

In close now, they traded attacks, blocking, redirecting, and dodging as they could. Zuko flipped over the Admiral to attack from behind, but Zhao spun and avoided being burned.

Zuko blocked Zhao's next fiery punch, grabbed the man's arm, and blasted his unprotected side. Zhao was thrown back off the edge of the wall, and Zuko jumped down after him.

* * *

Unable to do anything for the spirit, Iroh placed its body back in the water of the small pond.

"It's too late," Katara observed sadly, wishing it could have lived long enough for her to at least try to heal it. "It's dead."

The four sat at the edge of the pond. Yue was curled up with Sokka, his arm across her shoulder. Nanuk was holding the princess's hand, staring at her saddened face, an unreadable expression on his own.

Iroh bowed his head with grief, but followed the icebender's gaze. Seeing the young woman's white hair, he suddenly recognized something he had not noticed, but had subconsciously been feeling since the moment he had come.

"You have been touched by the Moon Spirit," he stated. "Some its life is in _you!_"

Yue opened her eye, and looked at him with surprise, followed by understanding.

"Yes," she breathed. "You're right. It gave me life. Maybe I can give it back." She stood and took a step toward the spirit's body, but Sokka grabbed her hand as Nanuk let it go.

"No!" he exclaimed, standing up himself. "You don't have to do that!"

"It's my duty, Sokka," she told him without turning to face him.

"I won't let you! You're father told me to protect you!" His grip tightened, but he found another hand on his own shoulder, holding him back. Nanuk's eyes flashed with a silent warning.

"I have to do this." Yue pulled away, and Iroh lifted the fish up to her. The princess placed both her hands on the injury, and closing her eyes, focused on what it was she wanted to do.

The small body began to radiate light, its glow filling the oasis with radiance. Then the glow faded, and Yue collapsed. Nanuk released Sokka, who rushed forward to catch her.

"No!" Falling to a sitting position, the southern warrior held the girl in his lap, her head on his shoulder. He hugged her hard, pressing her cheek to his. Her skin was becoming cold already. "She's gone," he said sorrowfully. "She's gone!"

* * *

The five ships closest to the wall quickly pulled up their ramps and backed away as the glowing mass of water came rushing toward them. As it joined the water of the sea, the Ocean Spirit took its animated form again, even bigger than the first time.

With the Avatar guiding it, it reached forward, and grabbed two ships with each hand, shoving them back so fast they capsized, but not before hitting several other ships in their paths.

The boy at the heart of the being scowled at a ship whose captain had ordered to attack. He raised his arm, and the being raised its own, blocking a ball of fire that had been aimed at the Avatar. The combined beings then simultaneously swiped at the ship, slicing it in half with massive claws. Another trebuchet poised to fire, only to be subsequently destroyed as well.

Turning to the horde of ships, the Ocean Spirit and the waterbending Avatar pulled up an enormous tidal wave, then sent it outward with a great burst of energy, pushing the entire Fire Navy out of the icy harbor and out to sea.

Many captains gave orders to retreat, but the angry Avatar and the wrathful Ocean took purposeful steps toward the fleet, ready to destroy them for what had been done to the Moon.

* * *

Sokka's tears had reached his eyes but not spilled out yet, when Yue's body faded away. Unexpectedly finding himself holding air, the warrior looked up in confusion.

Iroh and Katara turned to stare at the fish, which had begun to glow again. The burn healed instantly, and the old firebender quickly placed the spirit back in the pond, where it began to circle wearily.

The pond was again filled with light, though this time it was brighter and more solid. Then the light gathered itself up, rising over the surface of the water and taking on a new form.

Yue, impossibly pale and bathed in softly glowing mist, was floating in front of them. Her thick overcoat was gone, replaced with a long dress of white silk that flowed and danced in an unknown wind. Her blue eyes were now silver, and filled with hope and longing.

"Goodbye, Sokka," her voice wavered, carried on the same breeze that moved her long loose hair. "I'll always be with you."

She leaned down and kissed the shocked young man, who reflexively closed his eyes, enjoying it for all he was worth. Then she was gone again, and the moon returned to the sky.

* * *

The Ocean Spirit stopped in its tracks, and turned its watery head to gaze up at the bright orb that had returned to the sky. With a bubbly sound that might have been a sigh, it slowly collapsed itself, sinking back into the sea water.

The glowing mass of liquid flowed back to the city, pausing long enough to extend an arm upward and place the Avatar on top of a piece of the great wall, then traveled up the series of canals back toward the spirit oasis.

Aang wobbled for a moment as the glow faded, but remained standing. He held his head high, knowing the battle was over and they had been victorious.

* * *

Admiral Zhao and Prince Zuko continued their battle on one of the raised bridges over a city canal. They traded blasts and blows, blocking or dodging as they could. Zhao had more experience than Zuko, but the scarred firebender had youthful energy and patience on his side.

The banished prince let loose a quick succession of fire blasts from his hands and feet, causing Zhao to lose his balance and stumble back. His young opponent took advantage of this opportunity, kicking him forcefully backward and following up with two burning punches.

The Admiral fell on his back, and saw the full moon shining above Zuko's head. "It _can't be!_" he exclaimed.

Just then, several massive blue fingers rose above each side of the bridge from the canal below. Zuko dove out of the way, rolling to his feet, but Zhao was helpless to avoid the great watery hands of the Ocean as it grabbed him. The arm on one side broke off, allowing the other hand to pull the man up and over the wall of the bridge.

Zuko hesitated for only a moment, then ran and jumped up onto the wall. "Take my hand!" he called, reaching out to help the Admiral.

Zhao started to reach out as well, then scowled stubbornly and pulled his hand back to his chest with a clenched fist. Zuko watched helplessly as the man was dragged deep into the canal and disappeared.

* * *

"I've decided to go to the South Pole," Pakku told Katara as they watched the moon slowly dip beneath the blue horizon. It would be morning very soon. The outer wall would be rebuilt over the next few days, but for now, everyone was resting in the newfound hope of a new day.

"Some other benders and healers want to join me," the old master continued. "It's time we helped to rebuild our sister tribe."

"What about Aang?" Katara asked carefully. "He still needs to learn waterbending." Pakku smiled softly.

"Well, then he'd better get used to calling you _Master_ Katara."

Katara grinned up at him, and the two turned to watch the young airbender. Aang was silently looking out over the bay, his pet lemur sitting faithfully by his foot.

* * *

Sokka, Nanuk, and the northern chief also gazed at the sinking circle in the sky. All three men were all thinking of the same white haired girl, whom they had all loved, each in his own way.

"The spirits gave me a vision when Yue was born," Arnook told the other two. "I saw a beautiful, brave young woman _become_ the Moon Spirit." He took a deep, wavering breath, releasing it with a sigh. "I _knew_ this day would come."

"You must be proud," Sokka quietly.

"So proud! ...And sad," the old chief closed his eyes reverently. Nanuk nodded, but expertly kept his own emotions from reaching his face. He had been preparing himself for this for a long time, but it did not come any easier.

* * *

As dawn approached, raft drifted gently between the wreckage of steel ships, a makeshift sail attached to a small pole at its middle guiding it southward. A portly old man with thick grey sideburns manned the sail, while a younger man with a scar on his face stood staring back at the remnants of the Northern Water Tribe's great wall.

"I am surprised, Prince Zuko," Iroh mentioned slyly. "Surprised you are not at this moment trying to capture the Avatar."

"I'm tired," Zuko answered shortly.

"Then you should rest," the General replied. Receiving no response, he turned and placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "A man _needs_ his rest."

Zuko sighed, and layed down, stretching out as much as the raft would allow. He closed his eyes, and quickly drifted to sleep.

* * *

Katara approached her young friend slowly, not wanting to startle him. He had had a tiring and stressful night, and the Avatar State usually left him even more weakened than he otherwise would be.

Aang turned to her with a smile, and they hugged each other. Hearing the curious and obstinate chattering of a certain flying lemur, they looked down at Momo, who was sitting on the ground clearly feeling left out.

Katara smiled widely, and opened up for him. "You too, Momo!"

Aang laughed and held out his arm. "Come here!" The little animal chittered happily as it jumped up to perch on the airbender's shoulder. Appa grumbled as he flew up to be level with the small family group, and they all watched the sun rise together.

* * *

Elsewhere, a tall man sat in the shadows of his throne room, hidden by a curtain of dancing flames. A young woman with an unusually proportionate face and perfectly sculpted hair knelt deeply before him.

"Iroh is a traitor," the Fire Lord told her darkly, "and your brother Zuko is a _failure_. I have a task for you."

The princess straightened up, her cruel smirk doing nothing to disfigure her face.


	4. The Avatar State

_Aang was walking through a series of dusty halls, brushing sheets of hanging cobwebs out of his way as he went. He was looking for someone._

_Pushing back an unusually thick curtain of dust, he came to a room with a boy inside it. The boy turned around, and it was Aang himself. The other Aang was in the Avatar State, and glared at him menacingly. A powerful blast of air sent Aang flying backward into a wall._

_When he opened his eyes, he saw the other Aang floating in the air, a great spherical tornado holding him up. Katara and Sokka were hiding behind a piece of rubble, but the other Aang saw them, and sent a huge blast of wind at them._

_The room exploded, and suddenly he was at the Fire Sage's temple, sitting in front of a great big mechanical steel door. The gears on the door began turning, and then the door opened._

_The other Aang was on the other side; he roared like an angry boar-Q-pine, breathing fire out of his mouth and nose. The other Aang made a big swipe, and the floor split in a line of lava and stone._

_Aang fell through the crack, landing on a Fire Navy ship at the North Pole. The massive form of the Ocean Spirit stood before him, and the other Aang was at its heart. The two beings raised their hands, then brought them down in a vicious strike, destroying the ship beneath him._Aang bolted up with a gasp, breathing hard and soaked in his own sweat. Looking around, he saw that Nanuk, Katara, and Sokka were all sleeping peacefully in the hammocks around him. It had just been a dream. He was on a Water Tribe ship, bound for the Southern Sea. Everyone was fine. He was fine.

Taking a few calming breaths, he wiped his face with his hands and waited for his heart rate to slow to a more normal pace. Then he stood up and crept across the hold and up the ladder to the deck.

Katara turned over, wakened by an unidentifiable noise. Seeing the airbender's empty hanging bed, she quietly called, "Aang?"

When Katara came up to the deck herself, she saw her young friend leaning against the railing, his chin resting on his crossed arms. He was staring out to sea, a haunted expression on his face. She walked quietly up behind him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked gently.

"Nah, it was just a nightmare," he said, trying to put a brave face on. She waited, and soon it spilled out from him. "I was in the Avatar State. But I was outside my body, watching myself. It was scary... _I_ was scary."

He closed his eyes wearily, and Katara looked on sympathetically as she rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.

* * *

Early the next morning, everyone was gathered on the deck as Team Avatar prepared to leave. The ships would continue traveling south, toward the Southern Water Tribe. Aang and his friends would be flying east, toward the Earth Kingdom.

Pakku beckoned to his favorite student, and pulled a small decorated cone out of a bag he held in his hands. "Katara, I want you to have this. This amulet contains water from the spirit oasis. The water has unique properties. Don't lose it."

Katara accepted the gift, smiling up at him softly. "Thank you, Master Pakku." She hugged him for a moment, then backed away, climbing up to Appa's saddle.

Pakku motioned to the young airbender next, pulling out an intricately carved box. "Aang, these scrolls will help you master waterbending. But remember, they are no substitute for a real master."

The Avatar grinned as he sent a knowing look back at his crush (not that he'd ever admit he was crushing on her). He bowed deeply to his old teacher, then took his place on Appa's head.

"Sokka," the waterbending master called next. The southern warrior stepped forward excitedly, but Pakku simply smacked him encouragingly on the arm. "Take care, son."

Sokka blushed with embarrassment, making himself as short as possible as he joined his sister on the flying bison's back.

"Father?" Nanuk called pensively, from his place in the rigging. He rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous tic he had picked up from another white haired individual he had met as a child. He always learned things from the spirits he encountered, but they weren't always useful things.

Pakku looked up at his son with a raised eyebrow. "Are you certain?" he asked, clearly knowing more than the rest about what Nanuk wanted to say.

The icebender nodded, and the old master sighed. "Aang, my son would like to join you on your quest. I personally believe his skills are better suited for rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe, but I must admit, he has many skills of which I am unaware. And the spirits didn't send him to us without a reason; he believes that reason has something to do with you and your travels, and I can think of nothing to counter that."

"I can help you," Nanuk told the group. "I know I'm not much of a waterbender, but there's a lot more to me than meets the eye. And you already know I have knowledge that cannot be explained if not for some greater purpose. Please, allow me to go with you!"

Aang wasn't sure what to think of this new development. He didn't want to make Appa carry any more people than was necessary, and he still needed to find people to teach him earthbending... and firebending, perhaps, eventually. He hadn't seen the light haired man actually do much that could have been considered helpful, besides what any of the other warriors had done. And his limited bending didn't make him much more than a warrior with a few extra tricks, anyway.

But then, Nanuk was right. He knew more about the spirits than Aang did, including how to communicate with a specific one at will. He also seemed to have an uncanny knowledge of the Air Nomad culture, which should not have been possible considering that they had been wiped out a century before. Maybe that knowledge could be more helpful in the long run than just taking on another fighter.

And... he said the spirits had sent him to the North Pole, but not specifically why. He had been Princess Yue's friend and protector after she was saved by the Moon Spirit, but he had also said that was his choice, not his destiny. He was sent to find... someone, but that person apparently hadn't been at the North Pole. So why send him there, instead of... somewhere else?

"What do you think, guys?" the young Avatar asked his friends.

"Well, he hasn't really done all that much so far, except to offer advice," Katara put in, "But I have to admit, his advice has been pretty good, and it looks like he knows a lot about the spirits. Plus, he does seem rather hard to shock, and it could be nice to have someone that can keep his head in unforeseen circumstances."

Sokka shrugged good naturedly, adding, "And even if he isn't the greatest bender, so what? I'm not a bender at all, and we could always use an extra hand in a fight. I've seen him in the warriors' training hut a few times. He's not half bad with a weapon in his hands."

Nanuk held up a finger. "I can also do this!" He swung his hand over his head in a wide circle, and a with flick of his wrist, a little ball of ice leapt out of the ocean and whacked Sokka in the shoulder. The southern warrior yelped indignantly, and the frozen sphere flew up to Nanuk. When the white haired man caught it, the ball transformed into an ice machete. The icebender quickly grabbed one rope of the rigging, then chopped another. The weight of the loosened cloth sail pulled on the ropes as it fell, and Nanuk used this motion to pull and propel himself onto Appa's saddle. The sky bison rumbled in surprise at the sudden addition of weight on his back, but didn't really complain.

"Half bad, indeed!" he smirked at the younger man, who huffed.

"Was that necessary?" Sokka asked, crossing his arms.

"Of course not," Nanuk replied with an easier grin. "But it was fun, and I don't like to waste an opportunity for enjoyment when I don't have to. There'll be plenty of serious and dangerous days ahead, anyway."

"Yes, well," Pakku interjected with his signature look of sour disapproval, "Next time I see you, you'll be making a line of new rope while we discuss the necessity to not waste _supplies_ on a long journey."

"Aww, you know you'll miss me!" The warrior winked conspiratorially.

Katara thought she saw the old master's expression soften for a moment. Just a moment, no more, but she was sure it had. It was that look he reserved for her and Nanuk alone, though she saw it much more commonly than Nanuk did. But then the moment was gone, and Pakku was back to his same old stern self.

"Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you an escort to Omashu. There, you'll be safe to begin your earthbending training with King Bumi."

One of the waterbenders tossed Nanuk's sleeping bundle and packs of weapons and rations, and Aang gave the standard command: "Yip-yip!"

Katara called back as they took off, "Say 'hi' to Gran-gran for me!" She and the icebender waved goodbye, and then the ship was just a toy boat far below and behind them.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a territory recently solidified as being almost completely under Fire Nation control (though still inhabited by many subservient Earth Kingdom peasants), a wide river careened over a series of cliffs into an open bay. The land around the falls was lined with natural hot springs and blossoming cherry trees. Earthbenders had long ago smoothed the shapes of the steaming pools and added stairs, and for centuries, there had been people traveling here from all four nations for relaxation and rejuvenation. Over time, a full spa had come into being.

A bridge had been built across the river, just before the first and largest waterfall suddenly dropped steeply. The center of this bridge was made like a dock village, with wide paths and several buildings. Miniature cherry trees and other flowering bushes had been planted in decorative pots and on rooftops. There were areas where one could receive massages and hot rock baths, and separate saunas for the women and men. There was also an area where one could buy and eat delicacies native to the region, as well as exotic foods from around the world. For an extra fee, or if one had a particularly well known, politically advanced position or bloodline, one could even stay in one of the small cottages that dotted the area for extended visits.

General Iroh, brother to the Fire Lord, sighed as another knot in his back loosened. The masseuses were highly trained and worked very well together, despite being from opposing nations. Li, an earthbender, methodically worked his customer's muscles with his fists and several round stones, while Cho, a firebender, regularly warmed the stones and used his own heated hands to melt away the tension. Iroh sighed again.

"This is what I've been missing! Who knew floating on a piece of driftwood for... two weeks with no food or water, and sea vultures waiting to pluck out your liver could make one... so tense?"

Zuko said nothing. He sat on the ground, his back resting against the door frame, and his head hung forward. His torn and uselessly hot white suit had been replaced with a complimentary set of spa clothes. He wore a pair of comfortably functional red shoes, grey pants, and a loose grey robe with dull red trim. His forearms and his lower legs were wrapped in dark red decorative bandages, and his wide conical hat hid his face.

"I see," his uncle said. He signalled the masseuses to stop working, and stood up. A waiting attendant brought him his own robe, which he donned but did not bother to tie closed. He walked over to where Zuko sat, and took a seat beside him. "It's the anniversary, isn't it?"

"Three years ago today, I was banished. I lost it all. I want it _back_." His head raised, and his expression was the usual one of determination and contained anger. "I want the Avatar. I want my honor, my _throne_. I want my father, not to think I'm _worthless_."

"I'm sure he doesn't!" Iroh proclaimed with an optimistic smile. "Why would he banish you, if he didn't care?"

Zuko shot the old man a sharp look, then climbed to his feet and stormed off.

"Uhnnn, that came out wrong, didn't it?" Iroh turned back to the waiting staff members, who glanced at one another and said nothing.

* * *

Some distance out to sea, a very decorated Fire Navy ship steamed onward, approaching the occupied west coast of the Earth Kingdom. Two ancient women, exactly alike in appearance and manner, sat on thin cushions on a platform level of the deck. Two rows of soldiers, each ten soldiers long, lined the the deck leading up the stairs of the platform to the main cabin door. In a smooth move, the soldiers knelt with their foreheads to the ground. The great double door opened, and a four servants carried out a special litter. They stepped forward and set the palanquin at the top of the steps. Two bowed as they reached out, pulling the silken curtains aside. The parting cloth revealed a young woman, sitting regally on a small but intricate thrown. She was dressed functionally but royally, two thin lines of chin-length bangs framed her face, and a red flame decorated her simple topknot.

She stepped firmly onto the deck, and raised her hands. As the gathered soldiers rose to stand at attention, the princess strode down the steps and between the lines.

"My brother and my uncle have disgraced the Fire Lord, and brought shame on all of us," she announced. She didn't turn her head to either side, coming to a halt at the center of the deck. "You may have mixed feelings about attacking members of the royal family. I understand. But I assure you, that if you hesitate, I will _not_ hesitate to _bring you down_. Dismissed."

The soldiers obediently marched double-pace back into the bowels of the ship to continue the preparations for their mission. Another crew member ran past them as he approached the fierce girl.

"Princess," he bowed respectfully as he greeted her. "I am afraid the tides will not allow us to bring the ship into port before nightfall."

"I'm sorry, Captain, but I do not know much about the tides." She turned and walked toward the railing. She did not look at him as she asked, "Could you explain something to me?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

"Do the tides command this ship?"

"Um... I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You said the tides would not _allow_ us to bring the ship in. Do the tides, command this ship?" she repeated icily.

"No, Princess."

"And if I were to have you thrown overboard, would the tides think twice about smashing you against the rocky shore?"

He swallowed. "No, Princess."

"Well, then," she said flippantly, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. "Perhaps you should worry less about the tides, who've already made up their _mind_ about killing you, and worry more about _me_, who's still _mulling it over_." She spun on her heel, glaring at him.

"I... will pull us in." He bowed, and quickly went to give the orders. Her eyes flashed as she watched him leave.

* * *

Sokka was staring at the surrounding mountains in boredom, as he had been for a good forty minutes. Before that, he had been staring at the open ocean and then the coastline. He, like most of the others, had shed his hot overcoat and long underclothing hours ago, when the late morning sun had satisfactorily warmed the air. Nanuk had removed his thick outer coat, but the long sleeves of his undershirt remained covering his arms, despite being designed for wear on much chillier days. The older man was whistling a cheerful tune, but the joy didn't quite make it to his eyes. He hadn't spoken since they had left the small host of water tribe ships, and the others had long since surrendered to watching the scenery pass by.

It took a moment for the young warrior to register the change in the landscape, but when he realized how... unnatural it looked, he sat up straighter and focused harder. Yes, as they slid past an unusually jagged ridge, he saw the distinct feature of a road leading from a small cove.  
"There it is!" Sokka shouted excitedly.

The base was built on a raised circular stone foundation and surrounded by a tall wall, with expansive walls branching out and traipsing over the mountain side in three directions. The fourth side held the only gate, which most likely had to be controlled by earthbenders, and a short bridge which connected the raised opening to the road. The bridge could be destroyed as a defensive action, preventing entrance by ground bound enemies. Just inside the wall was a ring of rectangular buildings, mostly barracks of a uniform size but with a few larger and smaller buildings included. The fairly large area within that circle was a cross of wide pathways, with lower sections (possibly used for training purposes) in the corners. At the very center of the base was a multilevel angular platform, atop which stood a very tall cylindrical building.

The roof of the tower was more like a huge brick deck with a large round hut to one side. Seeing a very important looking man with a long, thick beard waving up from the entrance of that hut, Aang directed Appa to land on the roof. As he did so, the man stepped forward with a wide grin, flanked on each side by several soldiers. The young airbender and his southern friends slid off the sky bison, and suddenly remembered the downside of not moving much on a long journey.

"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" The trio quickly ceased cracking joints and stretching sore muscles, momentarily taken aback by the amplitude of his tone of voice. The man bowed deeply at the waist, a move mirrored by every soldier in attendance.

"I am General Fong," he announced with grandeur, "And welcome to all of you great heroes!" He held up his arms wide as he said each name: "Colossal Appa, Lively Momo, Brave Sokka, and the Mighty Katara!"

Sokka's chest puffed out in pride at his newfound title, and Aang grinned at the General's exuberance. Katara crossed her arms and grinned smugly as she repeated, "Mighty Katara? I like that!"

Nanuk, concluding his own stretches, stood up on the saddle and prepared to make his own descent. Fong blinked, temporarily shocked by his presence, but the smile never left his face.

"I am afraid I have forgotten someone," he declared with an odd but well-balanced combination of pomp and shame. "What may I call you, new companion of the Avatar?"

The icebender shrugged as he jumped to the ground. "Nanuk, Bear Warrior of the North." There was absolutely no celebrity in his tone of voice as he said it, but the title was impressive enough in and of itself. His friends turned to him with mild surprise, but the General's grin only widened.

"Then I welcome you, Fierce Nanuk!"

"Not 'Fierce' Nanuk," came the response, lined with slight annoyance. "Just Nanuk will do."

Not put off in the slightest, General Fong gave a signal, and suddenly the sky above them exploded with sound and color. earthbenders on the ground below shot little smoking balls into the air, which erupted into huge bursts of colored sparks with loud whistles and screams and pops. The four travelers stared up in wonder at the beautiful light show, and even Nanuk's serious expression was broken with the tiniest of smiles.

"Not bad, not bad!" Sokka said with clear pleasure at the celebratory reception.

* * *

A short while later, the four travelers were seated in the middle of a rather large meeting room that took up an entire floor by itself. General Fong occupied a high backed chair behind a desk on the small platform at the front of the room. Two presentation boards with maps of the world in different scales stood behind him, at the sides of the platform, and another map was rolled out on top of the desk. Two long rows of pillars led from the platform to the door at the back of the room, and each pillar had a glowing green crystal mounted like a torch, enhancing the light coming in from the large windows running the circumference of the room.

"Avatar Aang, we were all amazed at the stories of how you single handedly wiped out an entire Fire Navy fleet at the North Pole. I can't imagine what it must feel like to wield such devastating power." The General tugged his beard thoughtfully as he spoke. "It's an awesome responsibility."

"I try not to think about it too much," the young airbender replied with a shrug.

Fong gazed at the boy tentatively for a moment, and the smile returned to his face. "Avatar, you're ready to face the Fire Lord now."

As soon as Aang registered what the man had said, his own expression reverted to one of shock and fear. "What?! No I'm not!"

"Aang still needs to master all four elements," Katara told him. Nanuk's eyes narrowed, and Sokka watched on with curiosity.

"Why?" Fong challenged, standing up. "With the kind of power he possesses, power enough to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes, he could defeat the Fire Lord _now!_" He dropped his fist forcefully against the surface of the desk, as if to augment his point.

"But, sir, the thing is," Sokka pointed out, "Aang can only do those things when he's in the Avatar State."

"See, it's this special state where-" the Avatar started to explain, but General Fong interrupted him.

"I'm well aware of what it is!" Fong snapped. "Your eyes and tattoos glow, and you're able to summon unbelievable power." The military leader marched over to one of the map boards and stared at the skull-like island that was the Fire Nation mainland. "Without you, we'd be slaughtered before we even reached their shores, but with you leading the way, as the ultimate weapon, we could cut a swathe right through to the _heart_ of the Fire Nation!"

"General," Nanuk cut in, his dark eyes burning fiercely, "If I handed you a bench stool and threw you into the winter den pit of a pack of polar bear wolves, do you think you could make it out alive?"

"Obviously, as all I would have to do is earthbend and knock them unconscious." Fong replied carelessly. "And what does that have to do with this conversation?"

"Wrong! Polar bear wolves live in deep snow caves, with no earth nearby to bend! A bench stool makes an excellent weapon, and could save your life, if you actually knew how to use it as such." Nanuk clenching his fists. His companions stared at him in confusion as he continued, "More than likely, if you even thought to use the stool, you'd swing it around at random, hit yourself in the head by accident, knock _yourself_ unconscious, and get eaten all the quicker!"

"And you're point is?"

"My _point_, General, is that a weapon, no matter how powerful, is only helpful if you know how to use it, and use it _well!_ You now know a bench stool can be used to defend yourself. Congratulations, but that doesn't suddenly make you a master of that weapon."

"And?"

"_And_, you miserable excuse for a soldier," Nanuk growled angrily, "Just because you've _heard_ how powerful the Avatar State is, doesn't mean you have any _idea_ how to use _Aang_ as a weapon. And you don't have a _right_ to, either! He's a _kid_, for crying out loud! He's not some sword you can just pull off a wall and take charging into battle with no regards to the consequences!"

"Um..." Aang held up his hand. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Of course, Avatar," General Fong said amiably, still facing away from the group. Nanuk glared at the other man, who couldn't have been much older than himself, but turned to see what the airbender had to say.

"I get what you're saying, General, but Nanuk has a point, too. I don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar State, much less... what to do once I'm there..." The boy trailed off, not sure how to carry the thought.

"So it's decided, then!" Fong turned around, the incessant grin still plastered across his face. His eyes shone with a slightly crazed ambition as he stated, "I'll help you figure out how to get into the Avatar State, and then you'll face your destiny."

The other four quickly jumped to their feet. "No!" Katara said, beginning to lose her own temper. "Nothing's decided! We already have a plan! Aang's pursuing his destiny, his way!"

"Well, while you take your time learning the elements, the war goes on," Fong said darkly. "May I show you something?"

Aang followed the General to a big round window and looked out over a building the size of a barracks, but much less stale looking. There were people milling about out front, people wandering into and out of the building, people sitting on the steps leading up to it, people carrying stretchers... A few wore the familiar garb of nuns and nurses, but most were soldiers, some out of uniform and all sporting a wide variety of bandages, crutches, and casts.

"That's the infirmary," Fong told him. "And those soldiers, are the lucky ones. They came back. Every day, the Fire Nation takes lives. People are _dying_, Aang! You could _end_ it! Now!"

The young Avatar watched the commotion sadly as the General quietly added, "Think about it." Fong then walked away, and the airbender was left to his thoughts.

* * *

Meanwhile, on a highly decorated Fire Navy ship, the Fire Lord's daughter was practicing a highly advanced and dangerous firebending technique. She took a moment to still her energy, then began a series of complex circles with her hands. As she separated the polar energies within her body, electric sparks began to gather at her fingertips. The air withered and cracked around her, and when Azula was sure it was powerful enough, she released the energy in a dazzling bolt of blue lightning. The bright streak shot through the sky, connected with a cloud, and vanished again with a loud, shattering _CRACKKKKKKKK!_

"Almost perfect," said one of her decrepit mentors, seated on the platform of the raised deck. Lo (or possibly Li) was more than a bit portly and impossibly ugly, her wrinkled features sagging in all the worst place.

"One hair out of place." Li (or possibly Lo) was just as wretched as her twin sister, as they had aged exactly alike.

The princess crossed her eyes, angrily focusing on the stray hair hanging in front of her face. She replaced the hair and moved to begin again. "_Almost_ isn't good enough!" she snapped.

* * *

Some miles or less away, Iroh started awake at the sound of a thunder strike. It had been a clear sunny day, and the beautiful sunset showed no signs of change in the weather. The cherry blossoms loosened by the gentle breeze drifted aimlessly across the window of his room, and birds chirped happily in the trees. There was no sign of a storm, even to his keen senses. There shouldn't have been any thunder...

* * *

That night, as Fong was poring over the map on his desk, he was interrupted by a shy voice. "General Fong?"

The General looked up with a smile. "Come in, Aang. Have you thought about our discussion?"

The young Avatar bowed his head in resignation for a moment, but then raised it with determination. "I'm in. I'll fight the Fire Lord."

A few minutes later, Aang opened the thick metal door leading into the opulent room that they had been given. He walked slowly to the bed he had claimed, and sat down. "I told the General I'd help him," he announced glumly. He closed his eyes, sighed, and added, "By going into the Avatar State."

Katara sat up with surprise. "Aang, no! This is not the right way!"

"Why not?" Sokka put in from his own bed. "Remember when he took out the Fire Navy? He was incredible!"

The waterbender scowled at her brother, then reminded Aang, "There's a right way to do this: practice, study, and discipline."

"Or just glow it up and stop that Fire Lord!"

Katara stood up, ready to shout a rebuke, but was interrupted by Nanuk. "Do you really think it's that easy, Sokka? Do you?" He had regained his composure shortly after leaving the General's presence, but there was still an odd sternness to his tone. "Just 'glow it up' and see how much damage can be done before Aang passes out from exhaustion? If it were that simple, there never would have been a need for any of the Avatars to master any of the elements in the first place. There never would have had to be sages and gurus and spirits and past lives to teach them. Just blow everything up whenever someone gets out of line, right?"

Nanuk turned to Aang and told him carefully, "I can't tell you what to do here. You are the Avatar, it's your decision to make. But I agree with Katara. I think this is a very bad idea."

"But I can't defeat the Fire Lord without the Avatar State, and by the time I master the four elements, a lot of people will have died! I can't just sit by and let that happen!"

"I'm not saying you should sit by and do nothing, Aang," the icebender said softly. "But people have been dying for close to a hundred years, including in the Fire Nation. The soldiers on both sides knew the risks when they joined the army. They're all putting their lives on the line for something they believe in. And they're doing so honorably, fighting for their beliefs, fighting to protect those they care about. Even if you do manage to get into the Avatar State, what if you can't control it? What if you hurt the very people you're trying to protect?"

Nanuk got up and knelt in front of his young friend. "You don't understand exactly what the Avatar State is, or how it works; you just know the power it gives you. Is that power really worth the risks of trying to use it without that understanding?"

Aang teared up, and put his head in his hands. "I don't know! I just... I don't know what else to do!"

The bear warrior put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay, Aang. Look, I don't really give this General Fong guy a lot of credit when it comes to using his brains. Even if he does manage to induce the Avatar State, I doubt it'll happen right away. You've already agreed to it, so why not try it out for a few days, think it over, see how how you feel about it? And you can always change your mind later if it really makes you uncomfortable."

"Are you even paying attention to what you're saying, Nanuk?" Katara broke in. "One minute, you're saying you think it's a bad idea and he shouldn't do it, the next, you're saying he should try it! Which is it? And it doesn't change the fact that this isn't the right way!"

"But I may not have _time_ to do it the right way!" Aang threw himself back and collapsed into a sprawling position across his bed, his legs still hanging off the side.

"I _do_ think it's a bad idea." Nanuk turned to look pointedly at the young waterbending master as he spoke. "But the fact is, what _I_ think isn't all that important, any more than what you think or what Sokka thinks. We can all give him our own opinions and advice, but in the end it's _Aang's_ decision to make. I was just saying, if he feels like he needs more time to be confident in that decision, then that's okay. A few days won't bring the world to an end," he said, focusing back on the distraught airbender, "and I don't want you to make yourself sick worrying about it."

Aang responded with something that resembled both a resigned sigh and a frustrated growl. He pulled his legs up on the bed, then rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow. Katara pursed her lips, but didn't comment further. She laid back down, facing the wall. Nanuk shook his head.

"Hey, I know don't have the best voice around, but maybe I know a tune that could help calm your nerves." The icebender strode over to the bed he had chosen, and began rummaging around in his pack, which sat on the floor nearby. After a short while, his hand emerged with a small, oddly shaped flue. The instrument had a normal flute mouthpiece, but the pipe end forked out into two thinner pipes, creating a Y-shape. He placed the end in his lips, put one hand over each of the two branches, and began to play.

The music was low, slow, and quiet, but it wasn't really a sad tune. It was just... peaceful. It sounded like someone had put their innermost thoughts into a few smooth notes, possibly meant to be plucked on a stringed instrument, but clearly welcome to be played even on a soft whistle. It sounded like looking into a mirror and meditating. It sounded like remembering. Pretty soon, all three of the young people were sleeping more peacefully than they had in months.

Nanuk continued playing for several minutes after he was sure they had completely drifted off, content to simply rest in the music. Finally, he replaced the flute in its little box in his pack, and resigned himself to his own bunk. He created a fairly thick wall of snow across the front of the bed, blocking it off from the rest of the room, and curled himself into a comfortable position.

* * *

The next morning, Team Avatar followed the General up a fairly long hiking trail, up to a cliffside gazebo which overlooked a tall, smoothly flowing waterfall. An herbalist was waiting for them, having set up a short tea table with a squat, white ceramic teapot in the middle, a single matching tea cup to one side, and a rather ugly dark clay jar in front of himself. General Fong motioned the young Avatar to sit across from the herbalist, while he took a seat just to the side. Aang's friends sat closer to the outside edge of the gazebo floor. The herbalist removed the lid from the pot, then reached into the jar with a pair of chopsticks.

"This rare chi-enhancing tea contains a natural stimulant," he said as he dropped a strange white lump into the steaming liquid. "In an ordinary warrior, it improves strength and energy tenfold. In you, it may induce the Avatar State." The herbalist poured the tea into the cup, which Aang picked up.

"Tenfold energy, huh?" he said before he downed the drink in a single sip. The rest of the people gathered watched with interest as one of the boy's eyebrows began to twitch.

A few minutes later, General Fong tugged his beard thoughtfully as the child Avatar zoomed around the gazebo on an air scooter, rambling at a speed and volume that was not naturally possible. Aang zipped around the table a few times, went up a pillar, across the ceiling, down another pillar, and around his friends, then repeated the process, all the while shouting like no tomorrow.

"Is it working?! Is it working?! I can't tell! Somebody tell me if I'm in the Avatar State because I don't have a good view of myself! Am I talking too loud?!"

Nanuk pinched the bridge of his nose between his two forefingers, shaking his head. Momo was confused and slightly frightened by the constant and wild motion and noise, keeping Katara between himself and his two legged flying buddy. Sokka rested his chin on a hand, clearly unimpressed.

"I guess he could talk the Fire Lord to death," the young water tribe warrior said blandly. Katara crossed her arms, Nanuk rolled his eyes, Fong continued tugging his beard, and Aang slammed into a pillar.

* * *

The next day, after Aang had had sufficient time to recover from what Nanuk called his "caffeine rush" and the subsequent "crash," the Gaang and the General gathered on the roof of the tower. The airbender, waterbender, and icebender sat on the hard surface, Fong stood behind them, and Sokka stood before them all.

"Maybe I can shock you into the Avatar State," Sokka mused.

"I love surprises!" His friend shot him a thumbs up.

Katara covered Aang's eyes for a moment, and when she removed her hands, the young Avatar saw a man's body with the screeching head of a lemur. He yelped, leaning backward in surprise, then stopped at looked at his hands. He shrugged and held them up for the others to see.

"Still not glowing."

Unable to see and off balance because of the wriggling of Momo on his shoulders, Sokka stumbled back a few steps, letting out a few yelps of his own. As he fell over, the General stopped tugging his beard. The earthbender closed his eyes and shook his head in annoyance and disappointment.

* * *

The following day, Fong brought them to a hidden room deep below the tower. As wide and round as the top floor of the central building, it was much deeper than any individual level was tall. A ring of six massive stone pillars supported the ceiling, and a row of urn boxes lined the path leading across the room. At one end was a wide door opening to the tunnel that had brought them here. At the other end was a two tiered, steep staircase leading to a strange tapestry on the far wall, so high that the Gaang couldn't see what it depicted. To each side of the base of the steps was a statue of a fierce looking bear hog, and between these statues was a short platform. An altar had been erected on that platform, and behind it stood a bald old man wearing a thick, black fur across his shoulders. The alter held a wide, flat metal dish of some sort, a pitcher of water, a weird triangular device used for increasing the airflow into smelting ovens, and a plate of dirt.

"You are wearing a ceremonial piece of clothing from each of the four bending nations," he announced. It didn't really need to be said. Aang looked rather strange in the red skirt-like belt, oversized blue cloak, and big leafy Earth Kingdom helmet. The Air Nomad elder's horn wasn't even authentic, and the other garments were of questionable origin as well. They hadn't exactly had three weeks delivery time, and it was highly unlikely the base had ever had a need to keep them around before this.

"Now, I will join the four elements into one!" The old man exclaimed, as he held up the pitcher and the plate. "Water!" He emptied the pitcher into the dish. "Earth!" He dumped the plateful of dirt into the dish along with the water. "Fire!" Tossing the pitcher and plate away, he grabbed a torch off the wall and through it into the dish as well. "Air!" He blasted the dishful of muck with the triangle, then dropped that as well.

"Four elements together as one!" The man held up the dish grandiosely, then slung its contents at Aang. The torch stick bounced off the helmet and landed on the ground, but the rest covered the boy in a thick layer of brown glop.

"This is just mud!"

"So... Do you feel anything?" The man asked carefully. Aang started to twitch a bit and held up a finger. Everyone but Nanuk leaned forward expectantly, but Aang just let out a massive sneeze. The blast of air transferred the slimy covering to everyone else, again excepting Nanuk, who had ducked behind an urn box instead of leaning closer.

"We have to find a way!" General Fong muttered darkly as he wiped as much of the mud off his face as he could. The icebender stepped out from behind his shield.

"I have a question, General. If you don't mind, of course."

"Of course," Fong replied slowly, watching his most vocal dissenter suspiciously. The white haired man had been afraid to utilize the power of the Avatar State, and had even resorted to insulting the military genius when he couldn't think of a good excuse in his defense. There was no telling if the northern warrior was sane enough to accept the results of the Avatar's choice, or if he would attack the General out of spite.

"In the off chance you do manage to successfully push Aang into the Avatar State, what precautions have you taken to limit the collateral damage?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Do you not understand the question, General? In case you do figure out a way to induce the Avatar State, what have you done to make sure he doesn't destroy this base while he is in that State?"

"The point of all this," Fong said as he waved the warrior off carelessly, "Is to induce the Avatar State on purpose, so that he will be in control and won't do any damage to anyone but the enemy."

"And you really think it will be that simple?"

"Of course!"

"Then I have no intention of continuing to watch you fool around," Nanuk declared firmly. "I have seen the power you seek, and greater power than that. Nothing is ever as simple as you think it is, and this has a level of danger you apparently are unable or unwilling to comprehend." He turned apologetically to the young Avatar, but that strange light behind his eyes was shining fiercely again. "It's still your choice, Aang. I'm not going to try to force you to put an end to this. But I don't have to watch it, either."

With that, the light haired man stalked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Blossom Falls Spa, Iroh dumped the contents of a wicker bag, the results of a scavenger hunt along the beach at the bottom of the waterfall, on the table in the visitor's hut he and Zuko shared.

"Look at these magnificent shells!" he exclaimed gleefully. He picked up one particularly large purple conch shell and, moving to the window across the room, held it to the light to examine it more closely. "I'll enjoy these keepsakes for years to come!"

"We don't need any more useless _things_, Uncle!" Zuko admonished the portly old man. "You forget, we have to carry everything ourselves, now." Before Iroh could respond, a new voice broke in.

"Hello, brother. Uncle."

The two men quickly turned to face the young woman who had spoken. She was sitting beside the table of shells, resting one arm on it casually.

"What are you doing here?" the banished prince demanded with a scowl. Even the usually jolly Iroh stared at the princess with suspicious eyes.

"In _my_ country," she said flippantly, picking up a shell, "We exchange a pleasant 'hello' before asking questions." She glared back as she stood up and marched over to them. "Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?"

"Don't call me that!"

"To what do we owe this honor?" Iroh asked slowly.

"Hmm, must be a family trait. Both of you so quick to get to the _point!_" The princess held up the pink bivalve shell she had taken, and forcefully crushed it between her unusually sharp, claw-like fingernails. Iroh's eyes widened, then narrowed again angrily at the destruction of one of his keepsakes.

"I've come with a message from home," she told them. "Father's changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He's heard rumors of plans to overthrow him; treacherous plots. Family are the only ones you can really trust." Zuko stared at her unbelieving, and his sister turned to look out the window.

"Father regrets your banishment," she continued. "He wants you home." After a moment of silence, she turned back to face the other two. Zuko was still staring at her blankly, and Iroh refused to make any indication of his thoughts.

"Did you hear me?" she asked sharply. "You should be happy. Excited. _Grateful!_ I just gave you great news."

Zuko turned away, staring out the window in his own turn. Iroh took a few tentative steps closer to the princess, holding up his hands defensively.

"I'm sure you're brother simply needs a moment-"

"Don't interrupt, Uncle!" She snapped. She stepped into Zuko's field of vision, and continued sourly, "I still haven't heard my thank you. I'm _not_ a messenger, you know. I didn't _have_ to come all this way!"

"Father... regrets?" Zuko repeated quietly. "He... wants me back?"

The princess sighed. "I can see you need time to take this in. I'll come to call on you tomorrow. Good evening."

With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the hut.

* * *

Back at the earth kingdom base, Katara and Aang watched from the barrier wall as the sun sank below the horizon, causing a dazzling display of crimson and gold to play across the sky.

"Can we talk about something?" the waterbender asked tentatively, turning her back to the sun and leaning against the rail guard. The airbender shrugged.

"Sure."

"Do you remember when we were at the Air Temple, and you found Monk Gyatso's skeleton?" Aang winced slightly but didn't audibly respond. She continued, "It must have been so horrible and traumatic for you. I saw you get so upset that you weren't even _you_ anymore. I'm not saying that the Avatar State doesn't have incredible and helpful power, but... you have to understand. For the people who love you, watching you be in that much rage and pain is scary."

Aang had stared out at the sunset while she spoke, but now he closed his eyes for a moment. He raised his head and told her, "I'm really glad you told me that. But I still need to do this."

Her eyes welled up, hurt and surprise and worry bubbling out through them. "I don't understand!"

"No," he said to his friend, finally looking at her. "You don't. Every day, people die. I'm already a hundred years late. Defeating the Fire Lord is the only way to stop this war! I need the Avatar State to do that, and anyone who knew enough to teach me right probably died a long time ago! I have to try this!"

Katara closed her own eyes, standing straight and crossing her arms in front of her. "I can't watch you do this. I'm not coming tomorrow." She started to walk away, but paused long enough to wish him a good night. He returned the salutation, then she was gone.

* * *

Later that night, Zuko was packing animatedly, rushing about with a fervor his uncle had not seen in a long time. Iroh, however, was just sitting at the table, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"We're going home!" the prince exclaimed. "After three long years! It's unbelievable!"

"Yes," Iroh said critically. "It _is_ unbelievable. I have never known my brother to regret _anything_."

"Did you listen to Azula? Father's realized how important family is to him!" Zuko's expression hardened as he turned to his uncle. "He _cares_ about me!"

The old man stood up and faced the prince. "_I_ care about you!" Iroh reminded him harshly. He softened his gaze after a moment, but continued firmly, "And if Ozai does want you back... well, I think it may not be for the reasons you imagine."

His nephew turned away, putting his back to Iroh. "You don't know how my father feels about me! You don't know _anything!_" Zuko refused to show his uncle how hurt he was by the challenge to this new chance at redemption.

"Zuko," Iroh said softly, "I only meant that in our family, things are not always what they seem."

The prince spun around to face Iroh as he growled, "I think you are _exactly_ what you seem! A lazy, mistrustful, shallow old man, who's always been jealous of his _brother!_"

With that, Zuko stormed out. Iroh bowed his head sadly, but didn't move to stop him.

* * *

_The frozen tundra shone with the blue reflecting from the icy water. The sea was waving gently on a slightly breezy day. But then the water began to churn. Suddenly, a great spinning pillar of water shot up from the surface, carrying with it the other Aang. The other Aang's eyes glowed brightly, and he scowled fiercely as he raised the pillar to a great height, then came rushing down to the ship. He landed on his feet, turning the pillar into a massive water whip. Aang yelled in fear and pain as he was washed off the side of the small Fire Nation ship. The other Aang turned on Prince Zuko, who fled. But he wasn't fast enough, and the other Aang struck._

Aang shot up with a gasp. He sat there, breathing hard, while Sokka slept peacefully. Katara and Nanuk's beds were empty, but Momo was curled up on the floor.

"Sokka? Sokka, wake up."

"Umm?" The southern warrior moaned and mumbled a bit as he turned the face to young airbender. "Huh?"

"I think the others are right. We shouldn't be trying to bring on the Avatar State," Aang told his sleepy friend.

"You sure?"

"Yes," the young Avatar nodded.

Sokka shrugged. "Okay."

"Do you think the General will be mad?"

"What can he say? You're the Avatar. Like Nanuk said, it's _your_ choice."

Aang laid back down, still uneasy.

* * *

Early the next morning, Zuko was walking carefully down the rocky cliffside steps to the dock. His hope and joy at the thought of returning home were further amplified by the sight and smell of the colorful blossoms on the trees and bushes growing all around the path. He paused to look down at the waiting ship, wishing for only a moment that his uncle had chosen to join him. His thoughts were soon interrupted by a shout from above him.

"Wait!" called Iroh. The prince looked back up the steps to see the portly old man hurrying to catch up. "Don't leave without me!"

"Uncle!" Zuko responded gleefully, setting down his pack as he waited. "You changed your mind!"

"Family sticks together, right?" Iroh put a fond hand on his nephew's shoulder, and the young man beamed back. A memory flashed through Zuko's mind, of a boy with a loving hand on his back, staring out from a beach to watch a sunset. It was a happy memory, but happy in a different way...

The two glanced out over the cove, and the dock. "We're finally going home," Zuko breathed. He continued down the path.

Iroh stared down at the princess's ship for one last, long moment, his gaze full of suspicion, then followed after the prince.

* * *

Back at the Earth Kingdom base, Sokka and a number of earthbenders and other soldiers watched idly from the sidelines as Aang stood before General Fong in his meeting chamber.

"The thing is," the young airbender wrapped up his speech, "I don't think we'll ever be able to trigger it on purpose. So.. I guess that's it," he shrugged.

"Sure I can't change your mind?" Fong asked impassively.

"I'm sure. I can only reach the Avatar State when I'm in genuine danger."

"I see... I was afraid you'd say that," Fong said solemnly, sending a meaningful look to the attending soldiers. Suddenly, he stood up, and sent his big stone desk and a large portion of the platform straight at Aang in a clear attack.

The Avatar let out a big _OOOF!_ as the mass struck him, sending him flying out the window of the building.

"AANG!" Sokka yelled as he moved to help his friend, but two soldiers grabbed him from behind, holding him back.

Aang used his airbending to soften his fall, landing awkwardly on the ground. The chunk of desk and stone bricks landed with a mighty crash a few feet away from him. He looked up dazedly, to see the General standing just inside the window.

"MEN! _ATTACK_ THE AVATAR!" he commanded loudly, pointing at the boy.

* * *

Up at the gazebo by the waterfall, where Aang had had his experience with the tea stimulant, Katara and Nanuk were sharing a pot of regular tea. Appa was nearby, munching on a large bush.

"Thanks for inviting me," the young woman said. "I just couldn't watch them anymore. I couldn't... You saw what is was like at the North Pole. You weren't there at the Air Temple. You didn't see-"

"Actually," the bear warrior interrupted her, "I _did_ see." Katara stared at the man, shocked at this news.

"I was traveling between the temples at the time, trying to learn what I could, while also trying to preserve what I could of their relics and paintings. The Southern Air Temple was the last one I was to visit, and I hadn't been there long enough to move and honor the dead before you three came. I had been separating the bodies when I heard someone coming. Two firebenders had visited one of the other temples while I was there, looking for signs of the Avatar's return. Thinking it might have been them again, I hid."

Nanuk sighed, resting his elbows on his knees and pinching his nose between his hands. "I saw the boy airbender exploring the temple, trying to find his friends. I saw... what happened when he found out what had happened to them. I... don't doubt I will probably see it again, but..." He trailed off.

"But this isn't necessary, and you don't want to see it any more than you have to," she finished for him. He nodded.

"I am afraid Fong is closer to success than Aang realizes," the icebender told her.

"What do you mean?"

"From what I can tell, the Avatar State is an extreme subconscious reaction to emergencies. It is induced by severe danger to himself or those he protects, or by an intense emotional reaction to a failure to protect someone. Fong is known to be recklessly ambitious, and often chooses to ignore the possible negative consequences of his actions. His intentions are good, if misguided, but he is a man for whom the ends always justify the means. He may be willfully blind in his excitement, but he is _not_ stupid. If he stops long enough to consider the circumstantial similarities between all of the instances where the Avatar State has occurred..."

"He just might figure out the one thing that _will_ induce it!" Katara gasped, wide eyed with fearful realization.

* * *

Aang's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself surrounded by soldiers mounted on ostrich horses to his front and back, and earthbenders on opposite sides. He grimaced, shaking and rubbing his head is surprise and pain. Fong jumped from the window. As he landed on the ground, he sent a massive shock wave toward the airbender. Aang managed to get to his feet and let the force roll beneath him.

"What are you doing?!"

"I believe we are about to get results!" General Fong stated, a zealous, crazed look was in his eyes as he watched the soldiers begin their attack.

The earthbenders pulled up giant coin shaped rings of stone from the ground beneath them, sending them at him two at a time. Aang dodged the first two pairs of projectiles, using Air Nomad acrobatics to get between them.

"I'm not your enemy!" he announced to his attackers. "I won't fight you!"

The response was four disks shot at him simultaneously. He jumped straight up, barely managing to avoid being crushed. He landed on top of one, but it flew out from under him, and the two adjacent stone rings swung inward to smash him. He ducked into the space made by the square holes in the middle of the disks.

The double wide ring, now complete with boxed Avatar, was sent rolling down the line, where it was destroyed by an earthbender. Aang was sent flying back. He grunted as he landed hard, but stood up again.

* * *

Sokka glanced at his two captors. Realizing they were much more interested in the sounds of battle than watching him, he growled and swung his legs up and forward. By the time the soldiers figured out what he was about to do, he had already done it. The southern warrior used gravity to add momentum and force to his backward kick, hitting them both between their legs. As they cringed and crumbled in agony, he yanked his arms free and ran to the window. He stopped momentarily as he took in the scene.

* * *

Four more stone cylinders came flying at the young airbender. He dodged under, over, and between the projectiles, and landed on an air scooter. He zipped around his attackers at a high speed, avoiding attacks by changing direction suddenly. As he broke past the circle of benders, two soldiers on ostrich horses charged after him. Aang headed straight for a wall, then zoomed up it as fast and as far as his scooter could carry him. The ostrich horses jumped, and the soldiers swung their spears just as the ball of air broke apart.

Aang's tongue stuck out as he carefully flipped between the weapons, then fell back to the ground. The riders pushed their animals to kick off the wall, blocking his escape as they landed behind him. Aang used airbending to blow them away, but found himself grabbed and pulled by a stone ring under Fong's control.

"You can't run forever!" the General shouted at him.

"You can't _fight_ forever!" Aang replied just as loudly.

Fong responded by smashing the earthen disk that had the airbender in its grip.

* * *

Two lines of Fire Navy soldiers lined the long dock leading to the princess's ship, and the ship's captain stood at the far end of one line. Azula stood imperiously on deck, just past the top of the boarding ramp, flanked by two royal firebenders. Prince Zuko walked easily between the ranks, but Iroh's gaze shifted back and forth suspiciously as he walked behind his nephew. The soldiers were still as statues, their masked helmets hiding their faces. The two family members' footsteps were the only sound to be heard, and the silence grew as they approached the ship.

As they reached the bottom of the boarding ramp, they paused, and Azula held out her hands. "Brother, Uncle," she greeted warmly. "Welcome." The three exchanged bows, and Iroh cast another glance to the lines of soldiers.

"I'm so glad you decided to come," the princess continued. The soldiers immediately moved in, closing off the path back to the shore.

"Are we ready to... depart, your highness?" the captain asked. Azula quirked an odd smile, and nodded.

"Set our course for _home_, captain."

"Home..." Zuko repeated quietly. He had wished for this day for so long. Home... He and the retired General moved to follow the captain up the boarding ramp and board the ship.

"Raise the anchors!" the captain ordered. "We're taking the prisoners ho-" He froze, horror taking hold of his face. Azula's eyes also widened at the mistake, but her expression quickly changed to one of anger.

"Y-your highness! I-" he started to apologize. The banished prince was surprised, but not as surprised as he was furious.

The only one not caught off guard, Iroh suddenly spun around, and with an impressive display of firebending and unarmed combat, threw several soldiers of the boarding ramp behind him. Zuko shoved the captain to the side and off the boarding ramp, and stormed up to the deck to confront his sister.

"You lied to me!" His features contorted in his rage.

Azula smirked. "Like I've never done _that_ before!" she replied. She waved him off, and moved back a few steps, allowing the firebenders at her side to take him on first. They simultaneously cast mirroring fire punches at him.

Zuko redirected both blasts, and roared as he went on the offensive.

* * *

Aang yelled as he ran, a line of earthen rings smashing down at his heels. He made a quick left turn, and was followed by a rolling disk.

* * *

Katara heard a commotion coming from the base. From this distance, she couldn't be sure if it was crashing boulders... or just some really big drums. "Do you think Fong has figured it out yet?"

Nanuk stared at the compound thoughtfully. "I think... it's unlikely," he said after a moment. Another resounding boom reached their ears, and the two shared a look.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to at least check," Katara suggested nervously.

Nanuk nodded. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

Sokka was huffing slightly as he finally reached the bottom of the stairs. Taking in the arrangement of attackers, he quickly pulled out his boomerang and threw it. It wheeled about, then hit one of the soldiers in the head as Aang ran past. The projectile didn't hit square on, however, and ricocheted off back in the young warrior's direction. Sokka leapt forward, grabbing the boomerang off the ground where it landed, and threw it again.

The ostrich horseman who was chasing the young Avatar was knocked off his mount by the force of the blow. Sokka began to approach the creature, calling, "Good bird... horse... thingy!" The animal scratched the ground with a clawed foot, grumbling. He grabbed the reins, but was knocked away by a stone disk. He was immediately surrounded by earthbenders and soldiers with spears.

Fong glanced back at Aang, who was running up the stairs of the center building. "Maybe you can avoid me, but he can't!" The benders turned their disks sideways, creating a funnel like wall, blocking Sokka's escape by any direction except toward the General.

Sokka dove for his boomerang, but Fong was ready. A short pillar of stone rose from the ground, swiping the weapon far out of his reach. Then the earth opened up, turning to quicksand beneath his feet. The southern boy yelped as he found himself trapped in a tight, knee-deep hole.

"I can't move! Aang, help!"

"Don't hurt him!" Aang yelled, leaping off the platform. He sent a blast of air at the large man, who blocked it easily with a summoned wall of rock. Sokka sank further.

"Sokka!" his sister shouted from Appa's back. "No!" They were still too far to help, but they could clearly see what was happening. Nanuk urged the bison to go faster.

"Stop this!" Aang commanded. He ran forward and grabbed Fong's wrist. "You have to let him go!"

"You could save him, if you were in the Avatar State!"

"I'm trying!" the boy told him, tears welling up. "I'm trying!"

"Aang!" Sokka called, down to his chest in dirt. "I'm sinking!"

"I don't see glowing!" Fong snarled. He curled his fingers, and Sokka's head was the only thing above ground.

"Please! You don't need to do this!" Aang fell to his knees, staring up at the General, pleading.

"Apparently, I do." Fong clenched his fist. Aang dove desperately, but Sokka was gone. The airbender shook with fear, anger, and sadness. Suddenly, he spun around, glowing and full of uncontrolled rage. He stood up, slowly, purposefully.

Nanuk spat a word Katara didn't recognize, and yanked the reins hard. Appa was forced to retreat to the less indefinite safety of the open sky.

Fong grinned wildly. "It worked! It _worked!_" He began to laugh triumphantly, but stopped when he noticed a strong wind kicking up. His expression of glee quickly changed to one of fearful realization, and the next blast sent by the angry child flung him backwards.

The Avatar rose up on a tempestuous pillar of sand.

* * *

Zuko quickly cleared the distance between himself and Azula's guards, blasting them off the side of the ship with ease. He landed in a firm stance, ready to face off with the deceitful princess.

Azula's back was turned, and she made no move to face him. She smirked as he created a pair of small flame daggers. His first strike missed her by a significant space.

Iroh was making quick work of the soldiers and firebenders on the dock. When he found a moment's respite between attackers, he called to his nephew. "Zuko! Let's go!"

Zuko expelled several short grunts and growls as he slashed his burning knives. Azula's grin didn't waver as she repeatedly dodged him. When she grew tired of playing cat and mouse, she redirected a strike, hooked her elbow in his, and used the leverage to shove his entire body away from her. His flames went out as he stumbled back a step. He breathed hard, glaring at her.

The princess sneered at her disgraced brother. "You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss at the North Pole. And he considers you a miserable _failure_ for not finding the Avatar!" The banished prince closed his eyes, and breathed even harder. "Why he want _you_ back home? Except to lock you up, so you can no longer _embarrass_ him!"

Zuko bellowed, and his daggers of fire returned. He leapt, kicking out a hot flurry and forcing her to back away. She returned to simply dodging him. When her sharp fingernail found his forehead, he hissed and backed off for a short moment. When he continued his attack, Azula was forced to slowly retreat up the second deck's incline, despite her continued ability to dodge and redirect everything he had to throw at her.

Then she had his wrist, and a sudden burst of blue fire sent him tumbling of the platform. He landed in an undignified heap on the main deck. Zuko sat up, and stared in horror as the firebending prodigy began to gather a circular streak of lightning at her fingertips.

Azula pointed two fingers at her brother, and released the charge. But suddenly Iroh was there.

The old man grabbed her fingers, absorbing the energy through them into his own body, and redirected it through his other hand. The bolt flew through the air, struck the cliffside, and sent chunks of shattered stone into the water below.

Iroh twisted his stunned niece's arm, and kicked her overboard. He and Zuko quickly made their escape.

* * *

"Avatar Aang! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" General Fong shouted, trying to make his voice carry over the howling wind. "Your friend is safe! It was just a trick to trigger the Avatar State!" He yanked Sokka out of the ground beside him to prove it. "And it WORKED!"

Aang, beyond reason now, forcefully collapsed the sand pillar. Fong was slammed against the center building, and the Earth Kingdom soldiers were thrown back by a massive wave of shifting stone. The same wave caused severe damage to several of the outer buildings.

At the center of the destruction, the young airbender's spirit suddenly separated from his body, and was drawn upwards. Sitting atop Roku's dragon mount, Aang looked down on the violence for a moment. His body was still threatening to cause more havoc, surrounded by a powerful wind sphere.

"It's time you learned." With that, his predecessor signaled Fang to fly away.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Katara asked. "We have to go down there and help!"

"They are beyond our help, now!" Nanuk stated, bringing Appa to hover at a relatively safe altitude. He paused a moment, watching the Avatar spirits depart. "What has been done, cannot be undone. And we cannot even hope to have power enough to contain _that!_"

"But I can snap him out of it! I've done it before, at the Air Temple!"

"This is different," he told her. "That's _not_ Aang, down there. Not anymore."

"What are you talking about? Of course it's Aang!"

The bear warrior shook his head. "That is simply the cumulative power of generations worth of the Avatar Spirit, being channeled through his body. Aang's individual spirit-the part of him that makes him Aang, rather than Kyoshi or Roku or Kuruk... The part of Aang that is himself, alone, is gone. You can't comfort him, this time."

"How would you know that?" she demanded.

"Because I can see spirits that are between worlds. Aang hasn't entirely crossed over into the Spirit World, but he isn't in his physical body, anymore, either."

Katara stared at him. "You can... what? _How?_"

He shrugged. "I just can. I am... connected to the spirits, in a way. There's... more to it than that, but I cannot explain it to you."

"Why not?"

He refused to answer, and they returned to observing the destruction wrought below them.

* * *

The blue dragon coasted through the clouds, far above the world. Spirits of people long dead floated motionlessly, almost standing on the air. Aang more or less recognized most of the figures, but a few were completely unfamiliar to him. Roku began to speak. Aang experienced a series of flashbacks, as his old predecessor gave him his lesson.

_Kyoshi, her eyes bright and filled with power, moving two huge badger mole statues, sending them away with gentle but firm precision._ "The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, designed to empower you with the skills, and knowledge, of all the past Avatars." _A Water Tribe Avatar, creating a massive tidal wave, pushing his small boat forward with great speed._ "The glow, is a combination of all your past lives, focusing their energy through your body." _A woman Air Nomad, creating a wind so great, the fields and forests bowed before her._ "In the Avatar State, you are at your most powerful." _An Avatar from the Fire Nation, causing several volcanoes to erupt, sending four enormous pillars of lava into the air._ "But you are, also, at your most vulnerable."

Aang shook the visions away. "What do you mean?"

Most of the surrounding spirits suddenly blurred, and disappeared. They reappeared in a long line extending out of sight, with Aang at the near end, taking in the stream of faces. Roku, his eyes glowing, turned to face the boy beside himself. "If you are killed in the Avatar State," he said gravely, "the Avatar Cycle will be broken. And the Avatar, will cease to exist." The line quickly faded, beginning at the back, until only Roku remained. And then he was gone, as well.

Aang's eyes widened, and the corner of his mouth was jerked back. He contemplated this new information, while Fang returned to Earth.

* * *

Nanuk saw the spirit dragon's controlled plummet. He directed Appa to descend as well, though a bit more casually. Katara gave him a sidelong glance at his apparently random decision to leave their "safe zone," but said nothing.

* * *

Fang dove straight down, not stopping when he reached the ground. The dragon disappeared into the earth, but Aang was re-absorbed by his physical body.

The spinning ball of air lost its energy and dissipated, and the boy collapsed. He stayed where he was, on his hands and knees, as he surveyed the damage caused to the base. It was much worse than initially thought, now that he was seeing it from up close. No only had the soldiers been blown away, but their stone disks had been sent in all directions, and were stuck embedded in the buildings and the outer wall. Wounded were moaning all around him. The infirmary was leveled, and other buildings were in shambles. The ground itself was cracked and uprooted. A few brave men were watching him cautiously as they tried to dig the injured survivors out of the rubble, unwilling to wait and be sure the violence was truly over.

Katara jumped off the bison's saddle without waiting for Appa to land. She ran over to the airbender and hugged him.

"I'm sorry, Katara," he told her quietly. "I hope you _never_ have to see that again."

"HA!" General Fong shouted, striding toward them. Once Aang had left the Avatar State, his fear had quickly been replaced by his usual grandiosity and excitement. "Are you joking?! That was almost _perfect!_ Now, we just have to think of a way to control you when you're like that..." He began to stroke his beard in concentration, but no one else was particularly inspired by the specific line of thought.

"You're out of your mind," Aang told him. He and Katara glared up at the man.

Fong ignored him. "I guess we'll just have to figure it out on the way to the Fire Na-" He didn't get a chance to finish. A large ball of ice had flung through the specially shaped opening of Nanuk's water pouch and conked him in the side of the head. The General's body crumbled beneath him as he fell unconscious.

"And this one's down for the count!" Nanuk smirked from his place atop Appa's head.

"Anybody got a problem with that?" Sokka crossed his arms, looking around challengingly at the standing soldiers and earthbenders. He received several feverish shakes of the head. Three high ranking soldiers moved forward and bowed respectfully.

"Do you... still want an escort to Omashu?" the nearest colonel asked. Team Avatar silently conferred. It took all of half a second, for they were all in agreeance.

"No, I think we're all set."

Katara smiled as Momo returned to his customary perch on Aang's shoulder. Nanuk summoned his frozen projectile and stuffed it back into his pouch, then quickly moved to let the Avatar take his rightful place between the flying bison's horns. Sokka ran back to the rooms to grab their belongings, the group mounted up, and soon enough they were off.

* * *

Back at the spa, the day's activity had come to a halt. Attendants and cleaners had ceased their work, masseuses and hosts had abandoned their stations, and customers had pulled themselves out of beds and saunas. Everyone had been called by royal command to gather at the center of the compound. They stared up at a young woman who stood above them.

Princess Azula held up a wanted poster for all to see. On it, a gray haired old man with thick sideburns, a long goatee, and a chonmage topknot, stared calmly out at the people; beneath him, a young man with a small, black queue ponytail and a large scar across the left side of his face, scowled. The inscription read, _The Fire Lord orders the arrest of Iroh and Zuko, the two rebellious traitors. General Iroh was once the Dragon of the West._ _Zuko was Crown Prince to the Fire Lord. Both traitors violated imperial orders. They refused to exterminate the Water Tribe barbarians as well as capture the Avatar. Permission is granted to kill them on sight._

"Anyone who harbors these traitors will face the wrath of the Fire Lord!" she announced. Azula leaned forward, resting her hand on the balcony's short wall. Several men flinched at the movement, sensing the violent focus that radiated from her. "There will be _no place_ left to hide."

* * *

Zuko and his uncle raced along the riverside further inland, toward Earth Kingdom territory that had not yet been decisively claimed by the conquering Fire Nation. After a while, they dropped to their knees, gasping with lungs that could not be full enough of air.

"I think... we're safe... here," Iroh said. "For now."

Zuko took a moment to catch his breath, and reached into a hidden pocket in his pants. He slowly pulled out a knife with writing along the blade. He read the writing again for the first time in months, then reached back, and sliced through the base of his ponytail. He held the clump of hair in his hand and gazed at it. Without saying a word, he passed the knife to Iroh.

Iroh closed his eyes solemnly, then removed his topknot. The pair dropped their respective locks into the river, and watched, silently, as they drifted away.


End file.
